MATCH REPORT | Leicester Tigers 22 - 29 Saracens Men (GPR R13)
Saracens Men returned back to winning ways in a colossal tussle against Leicester Tigers at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
Sarries managed to bag the bonus point win in the Sunday sunshine putting them back in contention for the top four places ahead of a European break. Tries from Jamie George and Juan Martin Gonzalez in the first half, as well as a debut score from Angus Hall and a bonus point try from Theo Dan were enough to tame the Tigers in their own back garden.
After a lengthy injury break for Fraser Balmain in the first minute of the match, the game restarted at a frenetic pace, which saw Sarries pick up the opening score. A successful first-phase move off a lineout created space for Tobias Elliott, who cantered through. The visitors kept the ball alive well, with audacious offloads from one touchline to the other. After Juan Martin Gonzalez and Angus Hall were both brought down inches from the line, Maro Itoje flung the ball from the base of the ruck to Jamie George, who crashed over for the opener.
A succession of penalties for the hosts then allowed Tigers to edge into the Sarries 22. But strong defensive work from Sarries forced a knock-on, followed by a resulting penalty in their favour.
The high-tempo action continued as Sarries got into a groove in Tigers’ half. Slick carries through the midfield pushed the Men in Black up towards the 22, with the finishing touch coming from an inside ball to Juan Martin Gonzalez, who sprinted under the posts.
The trend of ill-discipline continued for Sarries, as Tigers camped inside the visitors' 22 after consistent infringements. Despite the growing penalty count, Sarries' defensive resilience was commendable, and they managed to keep Tigers out initially. However, the defensive line was broken on the 20-minute mark, with Freddie Steward striding over to halve the deficit on the scoreboard.
More penalties in Tigers' favour allowed them field position, and with 10 minutes left in the half, Pollard casually slotted a drop goal from 30 metres out to add another three points to the scoreboard.
Moments later, Alex Lozowski had the opportunity to reply with a penalty, but his effort drifted just wide. However, the centre made up for it with a drop goal attempt of his own shortly after the missed three-pointer, replenishing the seven-point gap.
However, with the clock in the red, it was Tigers who would have the last say. Another penalty provided them with the platform to head to the corner, and the resulting catch-and-drive pushed the Tigers inches from the line. Hanro Liebenberg did get the finishing touch a phase later in the corner. Pollard's conversion attempt, however, drifted wide, giving Sarries a narrow lead at the break.
The second half started at a similar pace to the first, but with Leicester on the ascendency. Two probing kicks from Freddie Steward caused issue for SportsEvents Guide backfield with the latter being spilt close to the Leicester line. The hosts recycled the ball, going wide and picking off the numbers allowing Hanro Liebenberg to cross for his second.
Saracens did respond in better fashion, however. After picking up a penalty, Sarries headed to the corner before flinging the ball out wide to Angus Hall, who produced an audacious dive over the line to level proceedings.
The visitors managed to double down with another score on the hour mark. After Hall was bundled out into touch just metres away from his second of the afternoon, Itoje did well to disrupt Tigers possession at the resulting lineout. The ball fell into the path of Theo Dan at the tail of the lineout who managed to crash over from five metres out to regain the lead.
Leicester thought they had scored their bonus point effort moments later though after Cameron Henderson charged down Van Zyl’s box kick and raced home, however the Scotsman was deemed to be offside ruling out the score to the displeasure of the home fans.
With a grandstand finish on the cards, Saracens dug deep with a strong defensive set in the closing stages keeping Leicester away from the try line to secure the win in tough conditions.
Saracens now travel to Toulon in the knockout stages of the Investec Champions Cup, before returning to Gallagher Premiership action against fellow top four contenders Gloucester Rugby at the StoneX Stadium. Tickets are available here.
