Amidst one of rugby union's most storied contests, the match involving Leicester and the visitors proved to be as much about an emotional tribute at the interval as any on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, 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.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
