Amidst one of English rugby's most storied contests, the fixture involving the Tigers versus Bath was heavily influenced by an emotion at half-time than the rugby during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, while their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
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 grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, 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, set up by the lively Ollie 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.
