Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest rivalries, this fixture between the Tigers versus the visitors was heavily influenced by the emotional tribute during the interval than any on-field action on the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising 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, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side were more or less close to the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested 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 scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
The Tense Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
