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Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's most storied rivalries, this fixture involving the Tigers and Bath was heavily influenced by an emotion during the interval as any on-field action during play.

Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester former players in honour of Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with MND.

When Moody wore a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.

An Passionate Welcome at Welford Road

The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.

Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.

The Climax

Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.

We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.

Contrasting Game Plans

The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against Bath put 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 scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.

The Tense Finish

Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity 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 on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.