Searle's Last-Minute Penalty Delivers Emotional Tigers Victory Against Bath

Against the backdrop of one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, the fixture involving Leicester and Bath proved to be as much about the emotion during half-time as any rugby during the pitch.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with MND.

The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester remained close to the peak of their powers, whereas Bath were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.

An Passionate Reception at Welford Road

Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.

Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

A Dramatic Climax

Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, and the Bath prop caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an 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, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.

Contrasting Game Plans

Bath were sublime with ball in hand. So Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against Bath put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.

Leicester’s three tries 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 were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.

The Tense Conclusion

Those scores gave Leicester the lead, 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. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.

That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.