Amidst one of rugby union's greatest contests, this fixture involving the Tigers and the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by an emotional tribute during the interval as the on-field action during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, 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, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were a different class when in possession. Therefore, 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 put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held 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, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. 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.
