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Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied rivalries, the match involving the Tigers and the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion at half-time as the on-field action on the pitch.

The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained close to their very best, while Bath were situated enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that in over two decades.

An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf

Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.

Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

The Decisive Moment

Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit 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 snatch a dramatic victory.

We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.

Contrasting Game Plans

Bath were a different class when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.

Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.

The Tense Finish

That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.

This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.