Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's most storied contests, the match between Leicester versus Bath proved to be as much about the emotion during the interval as any on-field action during play.
The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
When Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side remained close to their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception at Welford Road
Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. 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 remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.
A Tale of Two Game Plans
The visitors were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested 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 tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
A Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable 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 to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.
