Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, the fixture between the Tigers versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotional tribute during the interval than any on-field action during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Tigers former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' 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 remained close to their very best, whereas Bath were situated enduring a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team 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, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed 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 were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
