Amidst one of English rugby's most storied contests, the fixture involving the Tigers versus the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotion during the interval than the on-field action during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries 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 Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
A Tense Finish
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 secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
