Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, the match between Leicester versus Bath was as much about the emotion during the interval as any on-field action on the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a contingent of Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less close to the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. 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
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were sublime 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 conceded by the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick 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 on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
