Leicester Tigers defeated Northampton Saints at Mattioli Woods Welford Road in extremely wet conditions, avenging their defeat in the Premiership semi-final last season. The result secured second place in the table for the hosts, while the Saints dropped to fourth.
The visitors took the lead with an early try from James Pater, who exploited uncertainty in the home defence. Fin Smith’s speculative kick forward forced Billy Searle to drop the ball, and Pater was quickest to score the try. Smith then added the conversion. However, Leicester responded through Freddie Steward, who kicked a penalty from 50 metres out. At half-time, the Tigers led 28:7.
In the second half, Leicester scored four tries. Jamie Blamire broke away from a rolling maul, Cam Henderson broke through the Saints’ defence and slid into the corner after a combination on the wing involving Solomone Kata, Gabe Hamer-Webb and himself, Finn Carnduff broke through after a short pass from Joe Heyes, and Steward outmanoeuvred Archie McParland to secure the bonus point for tries. Searle kicked the conversions, while Steward and Searle took the penalties.
At the very end of the first half, a major scuffle broke out on the touchline involving several players. Ollie Chessum pushed his England international teammate Henry Pollock towards the tunnel. Blamire was particularly targeted by Josh Kemeny. In the 69th minute, Lockett received a yellow card, with Craig Maxwell-Keys officiating the match.
This result leaves the Tigers in second place behind Gloucester, while Northampton falls to fourth. The visitors’ wait for a league victory against a near-rival has now stretched to four years.
