Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied contests, this fixture between Leicester and the visitors was heavily influenced by the emotional tribute during half-time than any on-field action on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less close to their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
An Passionate Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd 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. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
