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Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied contests, the fixture between the Tigers versus Bath proved to be as much about the emotional tribute during the interval than the rugby during the pitch.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

The last time Moody wore the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, while Bath were situated in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.

An Passionate Reception on Home Turf

The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains his rugby home.

In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

A Dramatic Climax

The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.

We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.

Contrasting Game Plans

The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath put Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.

Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.

A Tense Conclusion

That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained 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 in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.

This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.