Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's most storied contests, the match between Leicester versus Bath was heavily influenced by the emotional tribute during the interval as the rugby during the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Tigers old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Passionate Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit 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 steal the win.
We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful 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. There could be only one result.
