Amidst one of rugby union's most storied contests, this fixture involving the Tigers and Bath proved to be as much about the emotional tribute during the interval as the rugby on the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody wore the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of 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've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. 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 to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
