Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's most storied rivalries, this match involving Leicester versus Bath was as much about an emotion at half-time than any rugby during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester former players in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side remained close to the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were a different class when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries 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 were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense 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. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
