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Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's most storied rivalries, the match involving the Tigers versus the visitors was as much about the emotion at the interval as any on-field action during the pitch.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.

When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to the peak of their powers, while their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.

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 large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.

Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

A Dramatic Decisive Moment

The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, and the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.

We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, 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 of the opponent.

Contrasting Styles

Bath were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against Bath put Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.

The Tigers' three touchdowns 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, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.

A Tense Conclusion

That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity 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 with a little less than 10 minutes to play.

This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.