Searle's Final-Second Kick Delivers Emotional Tigers Win Against Bath

Amidst one of rugby union's most storied contests, the fixture involving Leicester and Bath proved to be heavily influenced by the emotion during the interval as any rugby on play.

The legendary Martin Johnson headed a contingent of Leicester old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.

When Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for his final two seasons in a distinguished playing career, the home side were more or less still at their very best, whereas their opponents were situated enduring a lengthy period without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, the first time they have called themselves that in over two decades.

An Passionate Reception on Home Turf

The Tigers, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the large home crowd further emboldened by Moody's heartfelt admission during the break that regardless of his residence, this famous ground remains the home of his rugby heart.

Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.

A Dramatic Decisive Moment

The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his first start for Leicester, darted blind, and Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. From the final play, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to steal the win.

It felt like being transported back of Moody’s pomp. Certainly, Leicester, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault remains effective, regardless of the quality of the opponent.

A Tale of Two Game Plans

The visitors were sublime 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 succession of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested in the scrums and lineouts throughout the game.

The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were studies in poetry. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Tigers. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries just before and just after the break.

A Tense Finish

Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, which they held for the majority of the second period. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to grab a fourth try. In fact, their breakthrough 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, successfully converted the penalty with a little less than 10 minutes to play.

This merely galvanized Leicester to launch one final, powerful assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead where he is most comfortable, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. There could be only one result.