Billy Searle's Final-Second Penalty Secures Emotional Leicester Win Against Bath Rugby

Amidst a classic English rugby's greatest rivalries, this match involving Leicester and the visitors proved to be heavily influenced by an emotional tribute during the interval as the on-field action on 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 MND.

The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester jersey here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons of a storied career, Leicester were more or less still at the peak of their powers, while Bath found themselves in the middle of a lengthy period devoid of championship success. 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.

An Passionate Reception at Welford Road

Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs in their own stadium, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, Welford Road remains the home of his rugby heart.

In retrospect, Bath 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.

A Dramatic Climax

The replacement fly-half, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to snatch a dramatic victory.

We might as well have been transported back to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach remains effective, regardless of the quality they face.

Contrasting Game Plans

The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath under constant pressure, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece for most of the match.

Leicester’s three tries were carbon copies of each other, all scored from close range; Bath’s three were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath were the finishers, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Subsequently, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.

The Tense Finish

That earned Tigers the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. Actually, their scoring opportunity came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. 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, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.