Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's most storied contests, this match between the Tigers versus the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion during the interval as the on-field action during the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Tigers former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers 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 the club, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
A Tense Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. 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 for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
