Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, the match involving Leicester and the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by an emotion at half-time than any rugby on play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side were more or less close to their very best, whereas Bath were situated in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of 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, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won 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 first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
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, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries 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 Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
