Amidst one of English rugby's most storied contests, this fixture involving the Tigers and the visitors was as much about the emotion at the interval as the on-field action during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When 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 remained still at their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, 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 confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, 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 transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were sublime when in possession. 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 the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, 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 down the left. Having won 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.
