Amidst one of English rugby's greatest contests, the fixture involving Leicester and the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotional tribute during half-time than the rugby on play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher 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
Bath were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against the away side put Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at 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 for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
