🔗 Share this article

Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest rivalries, the fixture involving the Tigers and Bath proved to be as much about an emotional tribute at the interval as any on-field action on play.

The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with MND.

When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained still at their very best, whereas their opponents were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.

An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf

The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.

Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

A Dramatic Climax

Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.

We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.

A Tale of Two 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, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.

Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.

The Nail-Biting Finish

That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent 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.

This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won 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.