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Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied rivalries, this fixture between the Tigers and Bath was heavily influenced by an emotional tribute at the interval than any on-field action on play.

Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

When Moody wore a Leicester shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained still at the peak of their powers, while Bath were situated enduring a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.

An Emotional Welcome on Home Turf

The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.

Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.

A Dramatic Decisive Moment

Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.

We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.

A Tale of Two Game Plans

The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.

The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, 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 Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.

A Nail-Biting Finish

That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.

That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.