Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest contests, this fixture between the Tigers versus the visitors was heavily influenced by the emotional tribute at the interval than the on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained still at their very best, while their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath 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, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time 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. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic 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. There could be only one result.
