Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied contests, the fixture between the Tigers versus Bath was heavily influenced by an emotional tribute during the interval than any rugby on play.
Martin Johnson led a contingent of Tigers old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while their opponents were situated in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, 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 the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree 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, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against 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 carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, 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 breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. 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.
