Amidst one of English rugby's most storied contests, the match between the Tigers versus Bath was heavily influenced by an emotion during half-time as any on-field action on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent of Tigers old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side remained close to the peak of their powers, while Bath 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, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
An Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting 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 succession of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough 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 inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic 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.
