Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's most storied contests, the fixture between the Tigers and Bath was heavily influenced by an emotional tribute at the interval than the on-field action on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained still at their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome 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 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
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 in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
