Sunday, April 02, 2006

History will simply record the facts thus: Leicester 12 Bath 15

But for those of us fortunate enough to be there, yesterday's Heineken Cup quarter-final was an occasion that will be revelled in and talked about over a pint and round the camp fire for years to come. The conversation will begin something like..'Do you remember when Bath, undoubted underdogs and missing their inspirational skipper, went to their fiercest rivals and, through a mixture of unquenchable spirit, heroic defence and, it must be admitted, a large slice of luck, came away with a famous victory in front of 30,000 Leicester fans?'

Leading by three points but with two men dismissed and still 10 minutes to play, it seemed as though Bath simply could not hold out against the mighty Tigers. But the minutes ticked away and still the tackles kept flying in. The crucial moment came as the match entered its final minute. Leicester and England fly-half Andy Goode had the ball, racing towards the Bath line and had three team-mates outside him, all of whom would have had the simplest of tasks to run in the match-winning try. But in a split-second that will probably stay with him for a long long time, he went for glory himself and was swallowed up by the wall of defenders. From the ensuing melee, the ball came back on the Bath side and was hacked clear. Seconds later, the ball was belted gleefully into touch, the referee signalled the end of the contest and sparked jubilation among the small pocket of blue, black and white-clad supporters around me. I may even have hugged a man I had never met before!

It was a wonderful day out and the Tigers were predictably sporting in the face of a defeat which must have been hard to swallow. Mr Momus Snr hasn't been to a rugby match for many a day but I reckon even he had been converted to the cause by 2.30pm on Saturday.

Bath were totally dominated up front in the second half, normally their strong suit - and the semi-final brings an intimidating trip to San Sebastian to play the mighty Biarritz. But any navel-gazing can wait, we're going to enjoy this one for a few days first!

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