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Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied contests, the fixture involving Leicester and the visitors proved to be as much about the emotional tribute during half-time than any rugby on the pitch.

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

When Moody wore the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less close to their very best, while Bath were situated in the middle of a lengthy period without the title. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.

An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf

The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.

Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.

The Decisive Moment

The replacement fly-half, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, and the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. 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, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, 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 with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.

The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over to score either side of half-time.

The Tense Finish

Those scores gave Leicester the lead, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. Actually, their breakthrough came with a rare penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.

That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. 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.