Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's greatest contests, this fixture involving Leicester versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotion at the interval than any rugby on the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys to pay tribute to 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 in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less close to their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, 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, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop 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 transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, 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 Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries 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 scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful 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. There could be only one result.
