🔗 Share this article

Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, the match involving the Tigers and the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotional tribute at half-time than any on-field action on the pitch.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

When Moody wore a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side remained still at their very best, while their opponents found themselves 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 have called themselves that in over two decades.

A Truly Passionate Reception on Home Turf

The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.

In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.

The Decisive Moment

Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.

We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher 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 Game Plans

Bath 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 deluge of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.

The Tigers' three touchdowns 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 scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.

The Nail-Biting Finish

Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.

That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.