Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, this fixture between the Tigers and the visitors was as much about the emotional tribute at the interval as any on-field action on the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Tigers former players in honour of Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester shirt here, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while their opponents were situated enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. 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. Certainly, 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 they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
