🔗 Share this article

Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied contests, the match involving the Tigers versus the visitors was heavily influenced by the emotional tribute at half-time than the rugby on play.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.

When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, 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 were situated in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.

A Truly 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 confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.

Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.

The Climax

Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.

It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.

Contrasting Styles

The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. 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 the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.

Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, 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 Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.

A Tense Finish

Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.

This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.