Amidst one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, the match involving the Tigers versus the visitors was as much about the emotion at the interval than any rugby on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Tigers old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained close to the peak of their powers, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were sublime 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 kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball 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. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
