Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's greatest rivalries, this fixture between the Tigers versus the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by an emotional tribute at the interval as any on-field action during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, while Bath were situated enduring 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 have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were a different class when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.
A Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, 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 came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
