Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's greatest contests, the fixture involving Leicester and the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotional tribute during the interval than any on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody wore the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, 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, whereas Bath were situated in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs 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 the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors 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 succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts 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 tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
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 secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, 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 conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
