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Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, this match involving Leicester and the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by an emotion during the interval than any rugby on the pitch.

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

When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, while their opponents were situated enduring a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.

A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road

The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.

In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

A Dramatic Climax

The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.

It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.

Contrasting Styles

The visitors were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.

Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.

The Tense Finish

That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.

That only inspired 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, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.