Amidst a classic rugby union's greatest rivalries, this match between the Tigers and the visitors proved to be as much about the emotion during the interval as any on-field action during the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while their opponents were situated in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.
A Truly Emotional Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against Bath put Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.
The Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. 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, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
