Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's greatest contests, the fixture involving Leicester and Bath proved to be as much about the emotion at the interval than the rugby during play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit 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 of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were sublime 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 pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
A Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
