Amidst one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, the fixture between Leicester versus Bath was as much about the emotional tribute at half-time as any on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained close to their very best, whereas their opponents were situated enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side 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.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, and 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 snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors 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 succession of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; 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 Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
