Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's most storied rivalries, the fixture between the Tigers versus Bath was heavily influenced by an emotion at half-time as the on-field action on the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Tigers former players in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less close to their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves 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 since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. 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 to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were a different class when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept 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, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
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 scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
