Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest contests, this fixture involving Leicester and Bath was heavily influenced by an emotional tribute during half-time than any on-field action during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester former players in honour of Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained still at their very best, whereas their opponents were situated 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, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
An Passionate Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were sublime 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 under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won 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.
