Amidst a classic rugby union's greatest contests, this match between the Tigers and the visitors was as much about the emotion at the interval than any on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' jersey here, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath were situated enduring a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath 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.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries 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, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, 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, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
