Amidst one of English rugby's most storied contests, this match involving the Tigers and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotional tribute at the interval as the rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less close to their very best, whereas Bath found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table 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
The visitors were a different class 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 Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries 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, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting 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 secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
