Amidst one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, the match between Leicester versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotional tribute at half-time as any rugby during the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a long drought 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.
A Truly Passionate Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against the away side put Bath on the back foot, their pack 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 were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in 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 inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated 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 gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
