Amidst one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, this match between Leicester and the visitors was heavily influenced by the emotion at half-time as the rugby on play.
Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, whereas 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, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
A Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, 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 to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won 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.
