Amidst a classic rugby union's greatest rivalries, the fixture involving Leicester versus the visitors was heavily influenced by the emotional tribute at half-time than the on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, while their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, 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 Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
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 a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
Bath were a different class when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against Bath put Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts 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 tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.
The Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, 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. In fact, their scoring opportunity 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.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning 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.
