Amidst one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, this match involving the Tigers and Bath was as much about the emotion at half-time than any rugby on the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a contingent of Tigers former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained close to their very best, whereas their opponents were situated in the middle of a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Passionate Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested 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. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting 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 grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired 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 where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
