Searle's Final-Second Penalty Secures Emotional Leicester Win Against Bath

Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's greatest rivalries, the fixture involving Leicester and the visitors was heavily influenced by the emotional tribute at half-time as the on-field action during play.

Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester old boys in honour of Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained close to the peak of their powers, while their opponents 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 in over two decades.

An Passionate Reception on Home Turf

Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.

In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

The Climax

Billy Searle, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.

We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree of the opponent.

A Tale of Two Styles

The visitors were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match.

Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.

A Tense Finish

That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, 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, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. 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, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.