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Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest rivalries, the match involving the Tigers versus the visitors proved to be as much about the emotion at the interval as any on-field action during the pitch.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester former players in honour of Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained close to their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.

An Passionate Reception at Welford Road

Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.

In retrospect, the visiting side 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 excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.

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 a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.

A Tale of Two Styles

Bath were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.

Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.

A Nail-Biting Finish

That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.

This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated 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 conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.