Billy Searle's Last-Minute Kick Delivers Poignant Leicester Victory Against Bath

Amidst one of English rugby's greatest contests, this match between the Tigers and the visitors was as much about an emotion during the interval than any rugby during the pitch.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx of Leicester old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, before moving to their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status in over two decades.

An Passionate Reception on Home Turf

The Tigers, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team in their own stadium, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break 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, in a last-minute assault deep in Bath territory, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.

The Decisive Moment

Billy Searle, on for the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before the Bath prop made a high tackle, for which offence he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.

It felt like being back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in a congested league, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.

A Tale of Two Game Plans

Bath were sublime with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side kept 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, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.

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. Actually, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.

That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.