Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied rivalries, the fixture between Leicester versus Bath proved to be as much about the emotion during half-time than any rugby on play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Tigers former players in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt here, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, whereas Bath found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of 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 the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial 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, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
A Tense Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, 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, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
