Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's most storied contests, the match involving Leicester and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion during half-time than the rugby on the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody wore the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained still at their very best, whereas their opponents were situated in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table 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, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
A Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent 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 with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
