Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied rivalries, the fixture involving the Tigers and the visitors proved to be as much about the emotional tribute at the interval than any on-field action during the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Tigers old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
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, the home side were more or less close to their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, 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, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries 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. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers 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 came with a rare penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
