Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest contests, the match involving the Tigers and the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotional tribute during half-time as the rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, while Bath were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
