Amidst one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, this fixture between Leicester and the visitors was as much about an emotion at the interval as any rugby during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, whereas Bath found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which 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. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare 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 inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
