Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's most storied rivalries, the fixture involving Leicester and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotional tribute at the interval than the on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas 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.
A Truly Passionate Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time 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, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian 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 slotted the penalty kick from a difficult 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 their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. 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
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball 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, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
