Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, the match between the Tigers and Bath was heavily influenced by an emotional tribute during the interval than the on-field action on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained still at their very best, whereas their opponents were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs 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 the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; 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 just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
