Amidst one of English rugby's greatest contests, this match involving the Tigers versus the visitors was heavily influenced by the emotional tribute during half-time than the rugby during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester jersey here, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, while their opponents were situated enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against Bath put Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
