Amidst one of English rugby's greatest contests, the match involving Leicester versus the visitors proved to be as much about the emotional tribute during half-time than the rugby during the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Tigers old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath were situated enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Passionate Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
