Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's most storied contests, the fixture between Leicester versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotion at the interval than any on-field action during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were sublime 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 in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries 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 Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
A Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, 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 lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
