Amidst one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, this fixture involving the Tigers and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotion during half-time than the on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody wore the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained still at the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents 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 have called themselves that in over two decades.
A Truly Emotional Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, and the Bath prop 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.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts 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 tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
A Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, 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 energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.