Amidst one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, the fixture involving Leicester versus the visitors was as much about an emotion during half-time as the on-field action on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody wore 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 remained close to the peak of their powers, while their opponents were situated enduring a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over to score either side of half-time.
A Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball 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, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
