Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, the fixture involving Leicester and Bath proved to be as much about an emotional tribute during the interval as the on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
Bath were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, 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 a narrow advantage, 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 breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
