Amidst one of English rugby's most storied contests, this match between Leicester versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotional tribute at half-time as any rugby on the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, 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 kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.
The Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
