🔗 Share this article

Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied contests, this match involving the Tigers and Bath was heavily influenced by an emotion during half-time as any on-field action during play.

Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.

The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less still at 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've held that status in over two decades.

A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road

Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.

In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.

A Dramatic Decisive Moment

Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult 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, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.

A Tale of Two Game Plans

Bath were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.

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 scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.

The Nail-Biting Finish

That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity 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 for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.