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Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's most storied contests, this fixture between Leicester and the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by an emotional tribute at the interval as the on-field action during play.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

When Moody wore a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained still at their very best, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.

A Truly Emotional Reception on Home Turf

The Tigers, 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, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.

In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

A Dramatic Climax

The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.

We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.

A Tale of Two Game Plans

The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested 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 studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over to score either side of half-time.

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 grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.

This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.