Amidst a classic rugby union's greatest contests, the fixture involving Leicester and Bath was heavily influenced by the emotion at half-time as any rugby on the pitch.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.
An Emotional Welcome on Home Turf
The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains his rugby home.
Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
A Dramatic Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, darted blind, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.
We might as well have been 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 remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, 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 Tense Finish
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. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
