Amidst one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, the fixture involving Leicester versus the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by an emotion during the interval as the on-field action during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained still at the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Tense Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. 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 to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. 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.
