Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's greatest contests, the match involving the Tigers and the visitors proved to be as much about an emotion during half-time than the on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers former players in honour of Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained close to their very best, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, before 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 snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, 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
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. 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 the away side put Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. 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 Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, 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 scoring opportunity came with a rare 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 to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
