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Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, this match involving Leicester and the visitors proved to be as much about an emotion during the interval than any on-field action during play.

The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with MND.

When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey here, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained still at their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.

A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf

The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.

In retrospect, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

A Dramatic Climax

Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, darted blind, and the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.

We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault 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, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.

The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.

The Nail-Biting Conclusion

Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough 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 inside the final ten minutes.

This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.