Amidst a classic rugby union's greatest contests, the match involving the Tigers versus the visitors proved to be as much about an emotional tribute at half-time as the rugby during the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Leicester old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained still at their very best, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be 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, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Tense Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held 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 came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
