Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, this fixture between Leicester and Bath was as much about an emotion during the interval than the rugby during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, 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 their very best, while Bath 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 on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax one last 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, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were a different class when in possession. 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 the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
A Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
