Billy Searle's Last-Minute Penalty Secures Poignant Leicester Win Over Bath Rugby

Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied contests, this fixture involving the Tigers and Bath proved to be as much about an emotion at half-time than the on-field action during play.

Martin Johnson led a contingent of Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with MND.

The last time Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, before moving to their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while their opponents found themselves 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, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.

A Truly Emotional Welcome on Home Turf

The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains his rugby home.

Looking back, the visiting side were always up against it. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won one last penalty out of the Bath defence.

The Climax

Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult angle to steal the win.

It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.

A Tale of Two Game Plans

The visitors were a different class when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, learned to deprive them of any. A succession of penalties against Bath 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 tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.

The Tense Finish

That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes.

This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up 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. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.