Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied rivalries, this match between Leicester versus the visitors proved to be as much about an emotion at the interval than any on-field action during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, and the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, 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 of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed 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 scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
