Amidst one of rugby union's greatest contests, the fixture involving the Tigers versus Bath proved to be as much about the emotion at the interval as any on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody wore a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side remained close to their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed 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 tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held 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 in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
