Amidst one of English rugby's greatest contests, this match between the Tigers versus the visitors was heavily influenced by the emotion at half-time than the on-field action on the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody wore a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, whereas their opponents were situated in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
An Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days 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 can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were sublime when in possession. 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 kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
A Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
