Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest contests, this fixture involving the Tigers and Bath proved to be as much about the emotion during half-time than any rugby on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side 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, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened 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 did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, 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 to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against Bath put Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and 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 Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. 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, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
