Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied contests, the match between the Tigers versus the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotional tribute at half-time as the rugby during the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath were situated in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs 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 remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were a different class when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
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 scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, 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, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
