Amidst one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, the match involving the Tigers and Bath was as much about the emotion during half-time as any rugby during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt here, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought 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 Passionate Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, 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. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, 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 Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
A Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. 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 to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. 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.
