Amidst one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, the fixture between Leicester versus the visitors was heavily influenced by the emotion at the interval as any rugby on play.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Tigers old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody wore the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, while Bath were situated in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.
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 in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being 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 they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized 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 gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
