Amidst one of rugby union's most storied contests, the fixture between Leicester and the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion during the interval as the rugby on play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, 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 close to their very best, while their opponents were situated enduring a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, 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. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against Bath 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. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.
The Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
