Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest rivalries, this match involving Leicester and Bath was as much about an emotional tribute during the interval as the rugby on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained still at their very best, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, 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 of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts 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 studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
A Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. 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. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie 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. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
