Amidst one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, the fixture between Leicester versus Bath proved to be as much about an emotional tribute at the interval as the rugby on play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester former players in honour of Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less close to the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
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, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough 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.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
