Amidst one of English rugby's greatest contests, the fixture involving the Tigers and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotion at the interval as the rugby during play.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester jersey here, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side were more or less close to their very best, whereas their opponents were situated enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back 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, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.
A Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball 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, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish 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 gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
