Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied contests, this fixture between Leicester versus Bath was as much about an emotion during half-time as any rugby during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Leicester former players in honour of Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody wore a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession 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. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
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 where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
