Amidst one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, the match involving Leicester and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotional tribute during the interval as the on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, whereas Bath were situated enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, darted blind, and the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
A Tense Finish
That earned Tigers 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. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
