Amidst one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, this match between the Tigers versus the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion at half-time than the on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side remained still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting 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 score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at 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.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
