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Amidst one of English rugby's most storied contests, the match between Leicester versus Bath proved to be as much about an emotion during half-time than any rugby during play.

Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with MND.

The last time Moody wore a Leicester jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side remained still at their very best, while Bath found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.

A Truly Emotional Reception at Welford Road

The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.

Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, 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 seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.

We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.

A Tale of Two Game Plans

Bath were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.

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

A Nail-Biting Finish

That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.

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 gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.