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Amidst one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, this fixture between Leicester and Bath proved to be as much about an emotion during the interval than any rugby during play.

The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.

When Moody wore a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less close to the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.

An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf

The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.

In retrospect, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.

A Dramatic Climax

The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for Leicester, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.

It felt like being back in the days 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 remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.

Contrasting Styles

The visitors were a different class when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.

Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.

A Tense Conclusion

Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held 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 at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty 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. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.