Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's most storied contests, this match involving Leicester versus the visitors was as much about the emotion during the interval as any on-field action during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester former players in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, whereas Bath were situated in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
An Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors 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 Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over to score either side of half-time.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held 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 scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
