Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied rivalries, this match involving Leicester and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion during half-time as the rugby during the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of 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.
A Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, 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. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, 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, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
