Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's most storied rivalries, the match involving Leicester versus Bath proved to be as much about an emotional tribute at half-time than the rugby on the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side remained still at the peak of their powers, while their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. 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, 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 down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
