Amidst one of English rugby's most storied contests, the fixture involving the Tigers versus Bath proved to be as much about an emotion during the interval as the rugby on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to the peak of their powers, whereas Bath were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, 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, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, 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 they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, 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 energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
