Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's most storied rivalries, the fixture between Leicester versus the visitors proved to be as much about an emotion during the interval as the rugby on play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained close to their very best, while their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
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 in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
