Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, the fixture involving the Tigers versus Bath was heavily influenced by the emotion during half-time as the rugby on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers former players in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents found themselves enduring a lengthy period 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 Passionate Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, and the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
A Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, 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, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. 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.
