🔗 Share this article

Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest contests, the fixture involving Leicester and the visitors was heavily influenced by the emotion at the interval than any rugby during the pitch.

The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent 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 wore the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side remained close to their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.

A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road

Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains his rugby home.

In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.

A Dramatic Decisive Moment

The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.

It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.

Contrasting Game Plans

The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.

Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.

The Tense Finish

That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.

That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning 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.