Amidst a classic rugby union's greatest rivalries, the fixture involving the Tigers and the visitors proved to be as much about the emotion at half-time as the on-field action on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained still at their very best, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
An Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, darted blind, and the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against Bath put Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
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 scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
The Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
