Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, this fixture between the Tigers and Bath was heavily influenced by the emotion during the interval than the rugby on the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt here, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained still at their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, 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, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
