Amidst one of rugby union's greatest contests, this match involving Leicester versus Bath was heavily influenced by an emotion at half-time than the on-field action on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Tigers old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, while Bath 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've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
