Amidst one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, this fixture between the Tigers versus the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion at the interval as the on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission 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, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
A Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
