Amidst one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, this fixture between the Tigers versus Bath was heavily influenced by an emotion during the interval than any on-field action during play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Tigers old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side remained still at the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence 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 back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against Bath put Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.
The Nail-Biting Finish
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. 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 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, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
