Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest contests, this match between Leicester versus Bath was as much about an emotion at half-time as the rugby on play.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side were more or less close to their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher 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 Game Plans
Bath were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
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 Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
