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Amidst one of English rugby's most storied rivalries, the fixture involving the Tigers and the visitors proved to be as much about the emotion during half-time than the on-field action during play.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

When Moody wore 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 remained close to their very best, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.

A Truly Emotional Reception at Welford Road

Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground remains his rugby home.

Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.

The Decisive Moment

Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop 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. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.

A Tale of Two Styles

The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So 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 Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts 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 were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.

The Nail-Biting Conclusion

That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, 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, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.