Amidst a classic rugby union's greatest rivalries, this match involving Leicester versus Bath proved to be as much about the emotion at the interval as the rugby on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Tigers old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
A Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in 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.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
