Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest contests, the fixture involving the Tigers versus the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by an emotional tribute at half-time than the rugby on play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained still at their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Passionate Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Climax
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
