Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's most storied contests, the fixture involving Leicester versus the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotion during the interval as any on-field action on the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
