Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's greatest contests, the match between Leicester and the visitors was as much about an emotion at the interval than the rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less close to their very best, whereas their opponents were situated enduring a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for 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. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
The Tense Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent 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 inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up 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.
