Amidst a classic rugby union's greatest rivalries, the fixture involving the Tigers versus the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion during half-time than any on-field action on the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore a Leicester jersey here, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, 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 with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won 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.
