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Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's most storied contests, the match between Leicester versus the visitors proved to be as much about the emotional tribute at the interval as the on-field action during play.

Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Tigers old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.

An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf

Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains his rugby home.

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

The Decisive Moment

Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, 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 climb a little higher in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.

A Tale of Two Game Plans

The visitors were a different class when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.

The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. 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 either side of half-time.

A Nail-Biting Conclusion

That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, 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, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.

This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.