Amidst one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, the match between the Tigers and the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotion during the interval as any rugby on the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side remained close to their very best, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last 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 the club, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
