Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's most storied contests, the fixture between the Tigers versus Bath was as much about the emotion at the interval than any rugby during the pitch.
Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester former players in honour of Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody wore a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, while their opponents were situated in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
An Emotional Reception on Home Turf
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.
In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.
A Dramatic Climax
The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit 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 snatch a dramatic victory.
It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.
Contrasting Styles
The visitors were a different class when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.
Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.
The Tense Finish
That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.
That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.
