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Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest contests, this match between the Tigers and Bath proved to be as much about an emotion at half-time as any rugby on play.

Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with MND.

When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.

A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road

Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.

In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers won one last penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

The Decisive Moment

Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.

We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.

Contrasting Styles

The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.

Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.

The Tense Finish

Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.

This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.