Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's greatest contests, this match involving Leicester versus Bath proved to be as much about the emotional tribute at the interval as the rugby on play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
A Truly Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, 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 further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax 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 debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were sublime when in possession. 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 conceded by Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed 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 were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at 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 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. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
