Amidst one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, the match involving the Tigers and Bath was as much about the emotion at the interval as any on-field action during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Tigers old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, whereas Bath were situated in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were a different class when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against Bath put Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, 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
Those scores gave Leicester 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 grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in 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, 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 gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
