Amidst one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, the fixture involving the Tigers versus the visitors was as much about an emotional tribute during half-time as any on-field action on the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Tigers old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt 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 close to the peak of their powers, while Bath were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree 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 Bath 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 studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time 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. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
