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Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's greatest contests, the fixture between Leicester and Bath proved to be as much about the emotion at half-time than any on-field action during play.

Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Leicester old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

When Moody wore a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents were situated in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.

A Truly Emotional Welcome at Welford Road

Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be the home of his rugby heart.

In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.

A Dramatic Decisive Moment

Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, took a quick tap, and 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 moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.

A Tale of Two Game Plans

Bath were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game.

Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, 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 Nail-Biting Finish

Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, 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, 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 gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.