Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's most storied rivalries, the match involving the Tigers and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotion at half-time than the rugby during the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Tigers old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained still at the peak of their powers, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, 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 they face.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were a different class when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
