Amidst one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, the fixture between Leicester versus Bath was as much about the emotion at half-time as the on-field action on the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed 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 Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, 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 transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were a different class 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 against the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
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 earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
