Amidst one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, this fixture between Leicester versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion during the interval as any rugby on the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Passionate Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, and the Bath prop caught him high, 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.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against the away side 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, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
The Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty 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. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.