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Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's greatest contests, the fixture between Leicester and Bath was heavily influenced by an emotion at the interval as the on-field action on play.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

The last time Moody wore a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side were more or less close to the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.

A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road

Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.

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

The Decisive Moment

Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.

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

A Tale of Two Game Plans

The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.

Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.

A Nail-Biting Conclusion

Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained 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 at 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, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. 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.