🔗 Share this article

Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied contests, the fixture involving the Tigers and the visitors was as much about the emotion during half-time as any rugby during the pitch.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

When Moody wore a Leicester shirt here, 15 years ago, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained still at the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.

A Truly Passionate Reception on Home Turf

The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team 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 remains the home of his rugby heart.

Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

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, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.

We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.

Contrasting Styles

The visitors were sublime when in possession. Therefore, 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 kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.

Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.

The Nail-Biting Finish

Those scores gave Leicester 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 breakthrough 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 inside the final ten minutes.

This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. 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. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.