Lewis Moody recalls crossing Leicester-Bath divide, discusses main modern day foe – ‘Rivalries like nothing else’

Moody played for the Tigers between 1996 and 2010, playing 217 times, before continuing his career for two more years at Bath, after making a switch that not many have made.

During his time with Leicester, Moody won seven league titles and two European Cups, with the team one of the best on the continent for much of his time at Welford Road.

Speaking to TNT Sports at the launch of his documentary 'Lewis Moody vs MND', Moody reflected on the standout moments his club career.

"At Leicester there were almost too many memories to name, but the one that stands out for me was my first game at Welford Road," Moody said.

"I'd left school three months prior, my first team school coach was also the Tigers forwards coach Ian Smith, so he was in the changing room with me at Welford Road when my heart was beating through my chest and running out onto the field with the likes of Dean Richards and Rory Underwood, who were all my schoolboy heroes at the time.

"Being cheered on and motivated by my school coach and inspiration, that was a standout moment which I loved.

"Going full circle with Leicester, the last game I got to play with Leicester was at Twickenham, in the [2010] PREM final and to win in the last game for a club that I'd given my heart and soul to for the best part of 16 years was a really nice way to end it."

Moody then spent two years at Bath, making 34 appearances before injury brought his decorated career to a close.

The south-west side won the 2024/25 PREM title, but before then had not won the league since 1995/1996.

Asked if he sees Leicester and Bath's fierce, famous rivalry as one that still exists today, Moody said: ”I don’t think so.

"Certainly, when I was moving from Leicester to Bath, all the lads who grew up playing with us, watching with us, would ask, ‘How could you? The enemy.’ But actually in the era I grew up in, the late nineties, I think 1996 was the last title Bath won.

So from ‘96 through the 2000s, Bath, without being disrespectful, didn’t give us the challenge. 

”It was Wasps, Saracens, it was other teams that pushed us. I don’t think there is the same rivalry between Leicester and Bath. Rivalries come from different eras.”

In the modern era, Moody suggested that Leicester have a more direct rival closer to home.

”I think the rivalry that will always exist is with Northampton,” Moody added.

”They’re down the road, they’re doing decent, they’ve won a couple of titles, and they have an old Tiger in [current head coach] Sam Vesty, so there’s multiple reasons to enjoy going to a Leicester-Saints game now.”

Moody also compared his spells at the two clubs, and pointed out that, given his success at Leicester, his time with Bath highlighted just how good the Tigers team was.

He said: ”With Bath, it was just the opportunity to experience something different.

"I never intended to leave Leicester. That decision was taken out of my hands to some degree, but I’m so grateful that I did it. Otherwise, I would only have known it from Leicester. 

”I wouldn’t have known how great the thing we had at Tigers was at that time, with that team, those individuals, which spanned 10 years.

”The number of titles we won, the number of trophies we lifted. To go and experience something totally different at Bath - the way they go about it, the individuals, was brilliantly unique.”

He was clear, though, that his time at Bath was meaningful to him, for reasons beyond rugby.

”Leicester would be my rugby home, Bath is my physical home," he said. "My kids were brought up there, they’re Bath supporters through and through. 

”So we have some good rivalry when Tigers play at the Rec.

”There’s something about sport and rugby in particular that binds you to clubs and to rivalries like nothing else.”

Lewis Moody vs MND offers an intimate and deeply personal look at one of rugby's most respected figures as he faces the greatest challenge of his life.

The powerful 60-minute documentary follows Lewis and his wife Annie as they navigate life after his diagnosis with motor neurone disease (MND). With unprecedented access to Lewis, Annie and their family, the film explores the personal, medical and scientific realities of the disease while offering a deeply human story of resilience, hope and determination.

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