Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest contests, the fixture involving Leicester and the visitors was as much about an emotional tribute at half-time as the on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers former players in honour of Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained still at their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road 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 one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three 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, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
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 secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
