Amidst one of rugby union's most storied contests, the match involving the Tigers and the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotion during half-time than any on-field action during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester jersey here, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, whereas Bath were situated enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, 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 excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table 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 Game Plans
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period 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 pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.
The Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. 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 for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
