🔗 Share this article

Amidst one of rugby union's most storied contests, this match involving the Tigers versus Bath was heavily influenced by an emotion at the interval as any rugby during play.

Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Leicester old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained close to their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.

An Passionate Reception on Home Turf

The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.

In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.

The Decisive Moment

The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.

It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.

Contrasting Game Plans

Bath were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.

Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, 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 Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.

A Tense Finish

That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, which they held 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, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.

This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won 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.