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Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, this fixture involving the Tigers and Bath was heavily influenced by an emotion during the interval as any rugby on the pitch.

Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.

When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained still at the peak of their powers, while their opponents found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.

A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road

The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains his rugby home.

In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

The Climax

Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.

It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.

A Tale of Two Styles

The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties against Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed 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 tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.

The Tense Conclusion

That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.

That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won 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.