Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's most storied contests, this fixture involving Leicester versus the visitors proved to be as much about an emotion during half-time than the rugby during play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester former players in honour of Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while Bath 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 have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened 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 were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts 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, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers 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. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent 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 with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. 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.
