Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied rivalries, this fixture involving the Tigers versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotion at half-time than the rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, 15 years ago, prior to joining Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against the away side put Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts 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 studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
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 secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
