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Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest rivalries, this fixture between Leicester and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotion at the interval as any rugby during play.

The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Tigers former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.

A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road

The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.

In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

The Climax

Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.

We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.

Contrasting Game Plans

The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.

The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.

A Nail-Biting Conclusion

That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.

That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.