Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's greatest rivalries, the match involving the Tigers versus Bath was heavily influenced by an emotion during the interval as the rugby on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for 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 saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting 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, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath on the back foot, 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 were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
