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Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's most storied rivalries, this fixture between the Tigers versus Bath proved to be as much about an emotional tribute at the interval than the on-field action during play.

Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.

The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained close to their very best, while their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.

An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf

Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.

Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.

The Climax

The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult 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 remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.

Contrasting Game Plans

The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.

Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.

A Nail-Biting Finish

That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, 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, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won 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.