Amidst one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, the fixture between Leicester versus Bath proved to be as much about an emotion at half-time than the on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side remained still at their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.
A Truly Emotional Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence 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 of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were a different class when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece 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 studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, 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 breakthrough 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, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish 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. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
