Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's most storied rivalries, the fixture between Leicester versus the visitors was as much about the emotional tribute during half-time as the rugby during the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, while Bath 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.
A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were a different class when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
The Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up 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 gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
