Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest rivalries, the match between Leicester versus Bath proved to be as much about an emotional tribute at half-time than any on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less close to the peak of their powers, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Passionate Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, 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 of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were sublime 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 succession of penalties against Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
A Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
