Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest contests, the fixture involving Leicester and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion at the interval as the on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, whereas Bath found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against the away side put Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
