🔗 Share this article Billy Searle's Final-Second Kick Secures Poignant Tigers Victory Against Bath Against the backdrop of a classic rugby union's greatest rivalries, the fixture involving the Tigers versus the visitors was heavily influenced by an emotional tribute at the interval as any rugby on play. Martin Johnson headed a contingent comprising Leicester old boys to pay tribute to the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease. The last time Moody wore the Tigers' shirt here, 15 years ago, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years of a storied career, the home side were more or less still at the peak of their powers, whereas their opponents were situated in the middle of a long drought devoid of championship success. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they've held that status since the 1990s. A Truly Emotional Reception on Home Turf Leicester, riding a powerful emotional surge, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, embracing the role of underdogs on their own pitch, the large home crowd greatly inspired by Moody's heartfelt admission at half-time that, no matter where he may live, Welford Road remains his rugby home. Looking back, the visiting side did not stand a chance. Sure enough, during a final, desperate attack on the Bath line, Leicester won a crucial penalty out of the Bath defence. A Dramatic Climax The replacement fly-half, who replaced the excellent James O’Connor, the seasoned Australian making his first start for the club, darted blind, before Thomas du Toit caught him high, an infringement for which he saw yellow. With the last kick, Searle landed the penalty from a difficult 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 with ball in hand. 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 against the away side put Bath on the back foot, their forwards comprehensively bested at the set piece for most of the match. Leicester’s three tries were remarkably similar, all scored from close range; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath scored the tries, either side of Ollie Cracknell’s try for Leicester. Then, capitalizing on the penalty count, Reffell and Smith powered over for tries either side of half-time. The Tense Conclusion That earned Tigers the lead, 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 came with a rare penalty in the scrum, their South Africans by then on. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play. That only inspired Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the energetic Hassell-Collins on the left wing. Having won the penalty that put Bath ahead in a situation he relishes, poor Du Toit gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.