Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest contests, this fixture involving the Tigers versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotional tribute at the interval than the on-field action during the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up 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, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. 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, 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, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against the away side kept 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. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won 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.
