Searle's Final-Second Penalty Delivers Emotional Leicester Win Over Bath Rugby

Amidst a classic rugby union's most storied contests, this fixture between Leicester and the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotional tribute during half-time than the rugby during the pitch.

The legendary Martin Johnson headed a phalanx comprising Tigers old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with MND.

The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, while their opponents were situated enduring a lengthy period devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath came into the match as title holders, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.

An Emotional Welcome at Welford Road

Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of the unfancied team in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home.

Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

The Decisive Moment

Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.

It felt like being transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, no matter the pedigree they face.

A Tale of Two Game Plans

The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So 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 the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.

The Tigers' three touchdowns were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time.

A Nail-Biting Conclusion

Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty in the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. The fly-half, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, successfully converted the penalty inside the final ten minutes.

That only inspired Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the energetic Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.