🔗 Share this article

Amidst one of rugby union's greatest contests, the fixture involving the Tigers and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotional tribute during half-time than the on-field action during play.

Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side remained still at the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents were situated enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.

An Passionate Reception at Welford Road

The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.

In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

A Dramatic Climax

The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.

It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.

A Tale of Two Styles

Bath were a different class when in possession. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath 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, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.

A Tense Conclusion

Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.

This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.