Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's greatest rivalries, the fixture involving the Tigers versus the visitors was as much about the emotion during half-time than the rugby during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained close to the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. 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 Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, 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 they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were a different class when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put 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, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough 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.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
