Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied rivalries, this fixture involving Leicester versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotion at half-time as the rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side were more or less close to the peak of their powers, while Bath were situated in the middle of a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers 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 Leicester, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table 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.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath 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 succession of penalties against Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
The Nail-Biting Finish
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, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
