Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's most storied contests, this match involving the Tigers and Bath proved to be as much about the emotional tribute at the interval as the rugby on play.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Tigers former players in honour of Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore 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 were more or less close to the peak of their powers, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
An Passionate Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning 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.
