Amidst one of rugby union's greatest contests, this match between Leicester versus Bath was heavily influenced by an emotional tribute during the interval than any rugby on play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Tigers old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side remained close to their very best, while their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground 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, Leicester won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence 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 climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were sublime 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 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 studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie 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.
