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Amidst one of English rugby's greatest contests, this fixture between the Tigers versus Bath was heavily influenced by the emotional tribute at half-time as any on-field action on play.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

The last time Moody wore a Leicester shirt here, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained still at their very best, while their opponents found themselves in the middle of 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.

A Truly Emotional Reception on Home Turf

The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.

Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.

The Climax

Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.

It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.

A Tale of Two Game Plans

The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. So 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 the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.

Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over to score either side of half-time.

A Tense Conclusion

Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.

That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.