Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied rivalries, the match between the Tigers and the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion during the interval than the rugby during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Tigers former players in honour of Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis 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 the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained still at their very best, whereas their opponents were situated enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
An Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
A Tense Conclusion
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. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
