Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, this match involving Leicester and the visitors proved to be as much about the emotion during the interval as the on-field action during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, 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 Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time 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, 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. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
