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Amidst one of English rugby's most storied contests, this fixture involving Leicester and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotion at half-time than the on-field action during the pitch.

Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Tigers old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained still at their very best, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.

An Passionate Reception at Welford Road

Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.

Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

The Climax

The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.

We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.

Contrasting Styles

The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against Bath put Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.

Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.

The Tense Conclusion

Those scores gave Leicester 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 breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.

That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.