Amidst one of English rugby's greatest contests, the match involving Leicester and the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion during the interval as any rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to the peak of their powers, while Bath were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were a different class when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score 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.
The Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, 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 energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. 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. There could be only one result.
