Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, this match between Leicester versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotion at half-time than any rugby during the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while Bath were situated enduring a long drought without the title. 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 a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, 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 steal the win.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, 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, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. 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 inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
