Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest contests, this match involving the Tigers and the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotion during the interval than the on-field action on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts 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 tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
