Amidst one of English rugby's greatest contests, this fixture involving Leicester and the visitors proved to be as much about the emotion during half-time as any rugby during play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.
The last time Moody wore the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less close to the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. 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, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
