Amidst one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, this fixture involving the Tigers versus Bath was as much about an emotional tribute during the interval as the on-field action during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, 15 years ago, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, whereas their opponents were situated in the middle of 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, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive 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 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, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers 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 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, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
