Amidst one of rugby union's most storied contests, this match between the Tigers versus the visitors proved to be as much about an emotion at the interval than any rugby during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained close to their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult 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 a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were a different class 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 kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
The Tense Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
