Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied rivalries, this fixture between the Tigers versus Bath proved to be as much about the emotion at the interval than the rugby on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Tigers old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side remained close to the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards 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 studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score either side of half-time.
The Nail-Biting Finish
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 came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, 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 lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
