Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied contests, this fixture involving the Tigers versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotional tribute during the interval as any rugby during play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, while Bath were situated in the middle of a long drought 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 since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time 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 deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
A Tense Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, 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, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
