Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's most storied contests, this match involving the Tigers and Bath proved to be as much about an emotion at half-time as any rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with MND.
When Moody wore a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester won a crucial 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 caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, 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 the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two 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 against Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed 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 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 forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
A Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
