Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied contests, the match involving Leicester versus the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotional tribute during the interval as any on-field action on the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a contingent of Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side remained close to the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
An Passionate Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement 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 which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
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 scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
The Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. 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 to launch one final, powerful 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 gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
