Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest contests, the fixture involving the Tigers versus Bath was as much about the emotional tribute at half-time as any rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis 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 their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side remained still at the peak of their powers, while Bath were situated 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 at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
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 kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
A Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at 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 with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
