Searle's Last-Minute Penalty Delivers Poignant Tigers Win Against Bath

Against the backdrop of one of English rugby's most storied contests, this match between Leicester versus the visitors proved to be as much about an emotion during the interval than any rugby on the pitch.

The legendary Martin Johnson led a contingent of Tigers old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has revealed that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

The last time Moody wore the Tigers' jersey here, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, whereas Bath were situated enduring a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s.

An Emotional Welcome at Welford Road

The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, served up an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground will always be his rugby home.

In retrospect, the visiting side were always up against it. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence.

The Climax

The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for Leicester, took a quick tap, before the Bath prop caught him high, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick on an angle to steal the win.

We might as well have been transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, the home team, who climb a little higher in the mid-table bun fight, will be heartened that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.

A Tale of Two Styles

The visitors were sublime when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour in which they fell 17-7 behind, adapted to starve them of possession. A succession of penalties conceded by Bath kept Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.

The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, before and after Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break.

A Tense Conclusion

That earned Tigers a narrow advantage, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, after missing two earlier kicks, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.

This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left wing. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead where he is most comfortable, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.