Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied rivalries, this fixture involving Leicester versus the visitors proved to be as much about an emotional tribute at the interval as the on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, who has revealed 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 Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained still at their very best, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, 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 further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put 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 were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish 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, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
