Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's most storied contests, this match between Leicester versus the visitors proved to be as much about an emotional tribute at the interval as any rugby during the pitch.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt here, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained close to the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Passionate Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
