Amidst one of rugby union's greatest contests, this match between Leicester versus the visitors was as much about the emotion at half-time as any rugby during play.
Martin Johnson led a contingent of Tigers old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side remained still at their very best, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester won a crucial 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 made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty 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 climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were sublime 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 conceded by the away side put Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. 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 to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
