Amidst one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, the fixture involving Leicester and Bath proved to be as much about the emotional tribute during the interval than the on-field action on the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while Bath were situated in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over to score either side of half-time.
A Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers 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 score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, 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 for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
