Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's most storied contests, the fixture involving the Tigers versus the visitors proved to be as much about the emotional tribute at half-time as any on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, darted blind, and the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
