Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's most storied contests, this match between Leicester versus Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotional tribute during the interval than the rugby during the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Passionate Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back 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 their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour 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 comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; 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 Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
