Amidst one of English rugby's greatest contests, the fixture between the Tigers versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotional tribute at the interval than the on-field action during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, and the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
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 against Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
A Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
