Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's most storied contests, the fixture involving Leicester versus the visitors was as much about the emotion at the interval than any rugby on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Tigers old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. 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
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd 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, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour 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 comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
