Amidst a classic rugby union's greatest rivalries, the fixture involving the Tigers and Bath was as much about an emotion at the interval as the rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester former players in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey here, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, while their opponents were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Passionate Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers 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 debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were a different class when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
A Tense Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty 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 where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
