Searle's Last-Minute Kick Delivers Poignant Tigers Win Over Bath Rugby

Amidst one of rugby union's most storied rivalries, the match between the Tigers and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion during the interval as any on-field action on play.

Martin Johnson headed a phalanx of Tigers former players to pay tribute to Lewis Moody, after he revealed his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

When Moody last pulled on the Tigers' jersey at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained close to their very best, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a lengthy period without the title. 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 Emotional Reception at Welford Road

Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, served up a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains his rugby home.

In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.

A Dramatic Decisive Moment

Billy Searle, on for the excellent James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for the club, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.

We might as well have been back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, Leicester, who climb a little higher in a congested league, will be heartened that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.

A Tale of Two Styles

The visitors were a different class with ball in hand. Therefore, Leicester, following a confusing opening period in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A deluge of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts 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 scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.

The Nail-Biting Conclusion

Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough 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 inside the final ten minutes.

That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. Having won the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit conceded where he is not. There could be only one result.