Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied contests, the match involving the Tigers versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotional tribute at half-time as any on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester former players in honour of Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, while their opponents were situated in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, 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, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian 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 on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two 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 kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece 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, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting 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 grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired 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 in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
