Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, this fixture between Leicester and Bath proved to be as much about an emotional tribute during the interval as the on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less close to their very best, whereas Bath were situated enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement 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. So 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 put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, 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 down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
