Amidst one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, this fixture involving Leicester versus Bath was heavily influenced by an emotion during the interval as the on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, whereas Bath were situated in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Emotional Reception 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 at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
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 were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in 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, initiated 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 gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
