Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's greatest contests, the match between the Tigers and Bath was as much about an emotion during the interval as the rugby during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
An Passionate 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 greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent 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 received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, 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
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
The Tense Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
