Amidst one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, this fixture involving the Tigers versus Bath was as much about the emotional tribute during half-time as the on-field action during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent of Tigers former players 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 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 Bath were situated in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, 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 regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back 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 remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
Bath were a different class when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful 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, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
