Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's most storied contests, this fixture between Leicester and the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotional tribute during the interval than any rugby on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Tigers old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester 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 their opponents were situated in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were a different class when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against Bath put Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
