Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, the fixture between the Tigers and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotional tribute at half-time as any on-field action on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
An Emotional Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table 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
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball 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. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
