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Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest rivalries, the match involving the Tigers and Bath proved to be as much about an emotion during half-time than the rugby on play.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Tigers old boys in honour of the great 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 their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at their very best, while their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought 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.

A Truly Passionate Reception on Home Turf

The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.

In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

A Dramatic Decisive Moment

Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.

It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.

Contrasting Game Plans

The visitors were a different class when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.

Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.

A Tense Finish

Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.

This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.