Amidst one of English rugby's most storied contests, the match involving the Tigers and the visitors proved to be as much about an emotion during half-time than any on-field action on the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts 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. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
