Bath Rugby’s flawless start to the 2025/26 Gallagher Premiership was brought to a heartbreaking end on Saturday as Leicester Tigers’ substitute fly-half Billy Searle calmly slotted a penalty kick in injury time to secure a 22-20 victory. This last-gasp score not only avenged Leicester’s defeat in last year’s final but also ended Bath’s unbeaten streak after four rounds.
The clash between these two storied clubs—meeting for the 100th time at the iconic Mattioli Woods Welford Road—lived up to its fierce rivalry. Bath, the defending champions, burst out of the gates scoring three tries within 25 minutes through Dan Frost, Sam Underhill, and Cameron Redpath, although Finn Russell could only convert one.
Bath’s scoring drought lasted 46 minutes until Russell landed a long-range penalty that appeared to give Bath the win. However, Leicester responded with tenacious forward play that led to tries from Olly Cracknell, Tommy Reffell, and Nicky Smith, all converted by James O’Connor.
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The match’s turning point came when Bath prop Thomas du Toit was yellow-carded for a high tackle on Searle in the dying moments. This penalty allowed Searle to kick the winning points and send the home crowd into jubilation.
Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan reflected on the narrow defeat: “It’s tough to lose with the last play of the game. They had the edge in the set-piece, and we’ll review that. In rugby, you win and lose together. Today, the kick didn’t go our way, but we’ll come back stronger.”
The game saw early excitement with Bath nearly scoring within the first minute as Henry Arundell was stopped just short. Bath then took the lead after three minutes courtesy of a clever kick chase and offload involving Santiago Carreras and Frost. Despite some missed conversions from Russell, Bath maintained pressure with Underhill and Redpath adding to their tally.
Leicester’s resilience showed through as they fought back to close the gap by halftime with a driving maul try from hooker Jamie Blamire. In the second half, they took the lead with a pick-and-go try witnessed by a noisy home crowd. Scrappy moments ensued with errors from both sides, but Bath reclaimed the lead with a precise Russell penalty five minutes from time.
Ultimately, Leicester’s composed finish under pressure secured their win to the delight of their fans and brought an end to Bath’s unbeaten run, setting the stage for an intense season ahead.