Amidst one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, this fixture between the Tigers and the visitors proved to be as much about an emotional tribute during half-time than the on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Tigers former players in honour of Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, while their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, before 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.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were a different class 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 deluge of penalties against the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, 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. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over to score either side of half-time.
A Tense Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
