Amidst one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, this match between the Tigers and Bath proved to be as much about the emotion at the interval than any on-field action on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up 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 during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side 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 excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, and the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
The Tense Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, 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, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won 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.
