Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's most storied rivalries, this match between the Tigers versus the visitors was as much about an emotion during half-time than the rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents were situated enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
