Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest contests, the fixture involving Leicester and the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by an emotion during the interval than the on-field action during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained still at their very best, whereas Bath found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
A Truly Emotional Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them 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, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table 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 Game Plans
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. 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, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Tense Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, 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, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
