Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's most storied rivalries, this match involving the Tigers and the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotion at the interval than the on-field action during the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Passionate 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 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
