Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's most storied contests, the fixture between the Tigers and the visitors proved to be as much about the emotion at half-time as any on-field action during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, 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, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, 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 of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were a different class when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, 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 at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
