Amidst one of English rugby's greatest contests, this match involving Leicester and the visitors proved to be as much about an emotional tribute during half-time as the rugby on play.
Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey here, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas Bath were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.
Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
A Tale of Two Styles
Bath were a different class when in possession. Therefore, 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 Bath put Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, 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 put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.