Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's most storied contests, the match involving Leicester versus the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotion during the interval as the rugby on play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.
An Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were a different class 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 succession of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed 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 Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. 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.
