Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's greatest rivalries, the match involving Leicester versus the visitors proved to be as much about an emotional tribute at the interval as the rugby on play.
Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side remained still at the peak of their powers, while their opponents were situated in the middle of a lengthy period 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 Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher 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.
A Tale of Two Styles
The visitors were a different class when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.
The Tense Finish
That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, 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. Having won 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.
