Amidst a classic rugby union's greatest contests, the fixture involving Leicester versus Bath was heavily influenced by an emotion during the interval as the on-field action on the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt here, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents were situated in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Emotional Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity 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.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
