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Amidst a classic rugby union's greatest contests, this fixture involving the Tigers and the visitors was as much about an emotion during the interval than any on-field action on play.

The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side remained still at their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.

An Passionate Reception at Welford Road

The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.

In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.

The Climax

The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, before the Bath prop 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 steal the win.

It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.

Contrasting Game Plans

Bath were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against Bath put Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.

The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.

A Nail-Biting Conclusion

Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty 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 on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.