Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's most storied contests, this fixture involving Leicester versus the visitors was heavily influenced by the emotion during the interval as the on-field action during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to the peak of their powers, while their opponents found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
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, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
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