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Amidst one of English rugby's greatest rivalries, the fixture involving Leicester and the visitors was as much about an emotion at half-time than any rugby during play.

Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with MND.

The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for the last two years of a storied career, Leicester remained still at their very best, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.

An Passionate Reception on Home Turf

Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.

In retrospect, Bath 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 Decisive Moment

Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.

It felt like being 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 remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.

A Tale of Two Game Plans

The visitors were a different class 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 put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece 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. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, before and after Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.

A Nail-Biting Conclusion

Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.

This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.