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Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's greatest rivalries, this fixture involving the Tigers and the visitors was as much about the emotional tribute during half-time as the rugby during play.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent of Tigers old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

When Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained close to their very best, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.

An Emotional Reception at Welford Road

Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.

Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

A Dramatic Decisive Moment

The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby 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 landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.

We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.

Contrasting Styles

The visitors were a different class 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 succession of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.

Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.

The Tense Finish

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 arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.

This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.