Amidst one of English rugby's greatest contests, the fixture between the Tigers versus Bath proved to be as much about the emotion during half-time as any rugby during play.
Martin Johnson led a contingent of Tigers old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody wore the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less close to their very best, whereas Bath 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 Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
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, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare 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 lively Ollie 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.
