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Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's greatest contests, the fixture involving Leicester and the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion during the interval as the on-field action during play.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent of Tigers former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

The last time Moody wore the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, while their opponents were situated enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.

A Truly Passionate Reception on Home Turf

The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.

Looking back, Bath were always up against it. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.

The Climax

Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.

It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face.

Contrasting Styles

The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.

The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.

The Tense Finish

Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.

This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.