Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, this match between Leicester versus Bath was as much about the emotion during half-time than any on-field action during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to the peak of their powers, while their opponents were situated enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty 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 a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in 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.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
