🔗 Share this article Searle's Final-Second Kick Secures Poignant Leicester Victory Over Bath Rugby Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied contests, the fixture between the Tigers and the visitors was as much about the emotional tribute at half-time than the rugby on the pitch. Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Leicester old boys in honour of the great Lewis Moody, after he announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease. The last time Moody last pulled on the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, before moving to Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, the home side remained still at their very best, while their opponents were situated enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. The Tigers’ great rivals came into the match as title holders, the first time they've held that status since the 1990s. A Truly Passionate Reception at Welford Road Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them a classic, robust reception, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders greatly inspired by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home. Looking back, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, in a last-minute assault on the Bath line, Leicester managed to coax one last penalty out of the Bath defence. The Climax Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O'Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he received a yellow card. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty on an angle to snatch a dramatic victory. We might as well have been back in the days to Lewis Moody's prime. Certainly, the home team, who moved up the table in a congested league, can take great encouragement that their traditional, direct approach can still yield results, no matter the pedigree they face. Contrasting Game Plans The visitors were a different class when in possession. Therefore, Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties against the away side put Bath under constant pressure, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece throughout the game. The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath’s three were works of art. Dan Frost, Sam Underhill and Cameron Redpath scored the tries, either side of Cracknell's score for Tigers. Subsequently, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries just before and just after the break. The Tense Finish Those scores gave Leicester the lead, which they held for most of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before Bath won enough ball to grab a fourth try. In fact, their scoring opportunity arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, their South Africans by then on. The fly-half, after missing two earlier kicks, landed the kick inside the final ten minutes. This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, set up by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop conceded where he is not. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.