Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, the match involving the Tigers versus Bath was as much about an emotion during the interval as the rugby on play.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Tigers old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, 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 still at the peak of their powers, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, 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 inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
