Amidst a classic rugby union's greatest contests, this match between Leicester and the visitors was as much about an emotional tribute during half-time as any rugby on play.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester former players in honour of Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while Bath were situated enduring a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
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 on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, 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 Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in 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.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie 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.
