Amidst one of English rugby's greatest contests, the match involving the Tigers versus Bath proved to be as much about an emotion at the interval as any on-field action during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent of Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained still at the peak of their powers, while their opponents 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 Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission 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. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, 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 snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
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. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick 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 on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
