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Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest contests, the match between Leicester and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by an emotion at the interval as the on-field action during the pitch.

Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Tigers former players to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

The last time Moody wore the Tigers' jersey here, 15 years ago, prior to joining Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, whereas Bath were situated enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.

A Truly Passionate Reception at Welford Road

The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.

Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence.

The Climax

The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. With the last kick, 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. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality of the opponent.

A Tale of Two Styles

Bath were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.

The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score either side of half-time.

The Tense Finish

Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, 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 to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.