Amidst one of rugby union's greatest contests, this fixture between Leicester and Bath was as much about the emotion at the interval than the rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester old boys to pay tribute to 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 jersey 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, whereas their opponents were situated in the middle of a long drought 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 on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, 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 remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being 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, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.