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Amidst a classic rugby union's greatest rivalries, the fixture between Leicester and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotion at half-time than the on-field action on the pitch.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, 15 years ago, prior to joining Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents found themselves in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.

A Truly Passionate Reception at Welford Road

Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be the home of his rugby heart.

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

The Decisive Moment

The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.

We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.

A Tale of Two Styles

The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested 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 works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.

A Nail-Biting Finish

That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball 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 with a little less than 10 minutes to play.

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 put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.