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

Against the backdrop of a classic English rugby's most storied rivalries, the fixture between Leicester versus Bath proved to be as much about an emotion during half-time as any on-field action during the pitch.

Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Tigers former players in honour of Lewis Moody, who has announced that he has been diagnosed with MND.

The last time Moody wore the Tigers' shirt at Welford Road, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to the peak of their powers, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s.

A Truly Emotional Reception on Home Turf

Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.

Looking back, Bath were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.

A Dramatic Decisive Moment

The replacement fly-half, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.

It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.

A Tale of Two Game Plans

The visitors were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties against 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. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over to score just before and just after the break.

A Nail-Biting Finish

That earned Tigers the lead, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.

That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.