Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's most storied rivalries, this fixture between Leicester versus Bath was heavily influenced by the emotion during half-time than any rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath were situated in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
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 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 the club, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which 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. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath 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 against the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece 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 works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
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 grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
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, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
