Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest rivalries, this match between Leicester and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion during the interval as the on-field action during the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Tigers former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side were more or less close to their very best, whereas their opponents were situated enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns 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 Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
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 conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
