Amidst one of English rugby's greatest contests, the match between Leicester versus Bath was as much about an emotion at half-time as the rugby during the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.
An Passionate Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. 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 climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were a different class when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack 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 works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.
The Tense Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. 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.
