Billy Searle's Last-Minute Kick Delivers Poignant Tigers Win Over Bath

Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's most storied contests, the match between Leicester versus Bath proved to be as much about the emotional tribute during half-time than any rugby during play.

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

When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey here, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they have called themselves that since the 1990s.

A Truly Passionate Welcome at Welford Road

Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.

In retrospect, Bath 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.

A Dramatic Decisive Moment

Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.

We might as well have been transported back 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 Styles

The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against the away side kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.

The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith powered over to score either side of half-time.

The Tense Finish

That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.

This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.