Amidst one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, the fixture between Leicester versus Bath was as much about an emotion during the interval as the rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' 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 the peak of their powers, while their opponents were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired 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, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity 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 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. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
