Amidst a classic rugby union's greatest contests, the fixture between Leicester and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotional tribute during the interval as any on-field action on play.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey here, 15 years ago, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained close to their very best, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.
A Truly Passionate Reception on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Climax
Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors 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 the away side kept 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 studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.
The Nail-Biting Finish
That earned Tigers 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. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
