Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, this fixture involving the Tigers versus Bath was as much about an emotion during the interval as the rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side remained still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves 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.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.
The Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
