Amidst one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, this fixture involving the Tigers versus Bath proved to be as much about the emotion at the interval as the on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. 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 remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against the away side put Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
The 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 grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at 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.
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 in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
