Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, this match between the Tigers versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion at half-time than the on-field action on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Tigers former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
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 still at their very best, whereas Bath were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Emotional Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains 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 a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, and 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 from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed 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 tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained 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 at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. 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, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
