Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's greatest contests, the fixture involving the Tigers and Bath proved to be as much about the emotion at half-time than any on-field action during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody wore the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained still at their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs 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 his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick 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 the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, 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 Bath put Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
The Nail-Biting 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 score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
