| Leicester Tigers (10) 18 |
| Tries: Potter 2 Cons: Pollard Pens: Pollard, Burns |
| Northampton Saints (9) 19 |
| Tries: Sleightholme Cons: Furbank Pens: Furbank 4 |
Northampton Saints overcame Leicester within the East Midlands derby to spoil Freddie Burns’ Tigers farewell.
A Harry Potter attempt to Handre Pollard penalty put Tigers 10-9 up on the break, with George Furbank kicking three first-half penalties for Saints.
One other Furbank kick put Saints forward, with the lead altering twice extra as Potter grabbed a second attempt to Ollie Sleightholme scored Saints’ first.
A Burns penalty in his remaining sport arrange a tense end, however Saints held on.
The 32-year-old, who cemented his place in Leicester affections when he kicked the successful drop-goal in final season’s Premiership remaining, leaves Mattioli Woods Welford Street after a wonderful second spell to hitch New Zealand Tremendous Rugby outfit Highlanders.
Victory ended Saints’ run of 4 successive derby defeats towards Leicester and was simply their second win away from dwelling this season.
For Tigers, it was a second successive one-point loss at dwelling after Ospreys prevailed 27-26 within the European Champions Cup final weekend.
Worldwide call-ups noticed either side discipline considerably completely different groups following their exertions in Europe.
South African quantity eight Juarno Augustus returned from a hamstring harm and was amongst 10 adjustments made by Saints.
Tigers, whose lacking worldwide contingent included England scrum-half duo Ben Youngs and Jack van Poortvliet, known as on 20-year-old Sam Edwards as their beginning 9 in his first Premiership look.
Saints made a disastrous begin, with full-back James Ramm sin-binned for 10 minutes after being proven a yellow card within the third minute for a excessive sort out on Potter.
With Northampton quickly right down to 13 males as Mike Haywood acquired medical consideration, Potter ensured Tigers capitalised on the numerical benefit – warding off an tried sort out from Rory Hutchinson on his option to the sport’s opening rating.
Furbank and Tigers quantity 10 Pollard then traded penalties, with two additional kicks from the versatile Saints fly-half shifting them to inside a degree of the hosts.
A menacing trade between Leicester’s Jasper Wiese and Saints’ Alex Waller – who equalled Northampton’s file for derby appearances in his twenty sixth showdown with Tigers – epitomised the ferocity of the primary half.
The lead modified arms thrice within the first 10 minutes of the second half, with Furbank’s penalty edging Saints forward, just for Potter to revive Tigers’ lead.
Sleightholme’s end, after a wonderful flicked offload from Ramm, helped put Northampton 4 factors forward.
Tigers favorite Burns marked his a hundred and fifteenth and remaining Tigers look with a penalty earlier than hobbling off to an emotional ovation in a sport that in the end led to disappointment for the hosts.
Leicester Tigers: Burns; Watson, Scott, Porter, Potter; Pollard, Edwards; Whitcombe, Montoya, Hurd; Wells, Snyman, Liebenberg, Reffell, Wiese.
Replacements: Clare, West, Richardson, Martin, Cracknell, Whiteley, Gopperth, Simmons.
Northampton Saints: Ramm; Skosan, Proctor, Hutchinson, Sleightholme; Furbank, James; Waller, Haywood, Hill; Moon, Coles, Scott-Younger, Hinkley, Augustus.
Replacements: Smith, Waller, Petch, Nansen, Wilkins, Graham, Braley, Litchfield.
Referee: Wayne Barnes.
