Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's greatest rivalries, this match involving Leicester versus the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotional tribute during the interval than any rugby on play.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody wore a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side remained close to the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, 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 at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, 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 a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed 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. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score either side of half-time.
A Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession 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. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick 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 on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
