Amidst one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, this match involving Leicester and the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotion during the interval as any rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Tigers old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, while Bath were situated in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Passionate Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, on for the excellent 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 received a yellow card. From the final play, 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. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in 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.
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 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.
