Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest rivalries, this fixture involving Leicester and the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotional tribute during the interval than the rugby on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, while Bath were situated enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were a different class when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester 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. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty 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 down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
