Searle's Final-Second Penalty Secures Poignant Tigers Win Against Bath

Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's most storied contests, the fixture between Leicester and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion during half-time than the rugby on play.

Martin Johnson led a contingent comprising Leicester former players in honour of Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with MND.

The last time Moody wore a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained close to their very best, while their opponents found themselves enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status in over two decades.

An Passionate Welcome on Home Turf

Leicester, on a wave of emotion, served up a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as underdogs in their own stadium, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road will always be 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, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.

The Climax

Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his debut start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory.

It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Without a doubt, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.

Contrasting Styles

Bath 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 Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed in the scrums and lineouts for most of the match.

The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Leicester. Then, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over to score just before and just after the break.

A Nail-Biting Conclusion

Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for the majority of the second period. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity 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 for one last, brutish assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.