Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest contests, the match involving Leicester versus Bath was heavily influenced by an emotion during the interval than the on-field action during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained close to their very best, whereas their opponents were situated enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Reception at Welford Road
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, 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, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop caught him high, 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.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards 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 studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
