Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, the match between Leicester versus Bath proved to be as much about the emotional tribute during the interval as the rugby during the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, while Bath were situated in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
