Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied rivalries, the match involving the Tigers and Bath was heavily influenced by an emotional tribute during the interval than the rugby during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Tigers old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, 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 back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side kept 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, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated 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. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
