Amidst a classic rugby union's greatest contests, the match between Leicester and the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion during half-time than the rugby during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while their opponents 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 since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened 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. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester won a crucial 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 Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. 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 Conclusion
That earned Tigers 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. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in 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 to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
