Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied contests, this fixture involving the Tigers and the visitors proved to be as much about an emotional tribute at half-time than the on-field action on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, while their opponents were situated in the middle of 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 at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, 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 Game Plans
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Tense Finish
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 came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, 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 earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
