Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's greatest contests, the match involving Leicester and Bath proved to be as much about an emotional tribute during the interval than any rugby during play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Tigers old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time 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 of a storied career, Leicester remained still at their very best, while their opponents were situated enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side 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 Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
That earned Tigers the lead, 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. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
