Leicester came from behind to win a feisty East Midlands derby with a second-half power play that took the Tigers into second place in the Prem.
Northampton led 7-3 at half-time after a seventh-minute try by teenage full-back James Pater but Leicester’s pack turned up the heat on the champions with three tries in 13 minutes after the break.
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Henry Pollock, who was replaced in the 52nd minute, was at the centre of a mass flare-up that carried on into the tunnel as tempers boiled over at the end of the first half.
The incident served to spark a second-half onslaught by the home side at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
A catch-and-drive score from hooker Jamie Blamire was followed by a fine try in the left-hand corner by second row Cam Henderson, after a huge Tigers scrum, and a close-range touchdown from flanker Finn Carnduff.
With Northampton down to 14 men after replacement Tom Lockett was sin-binned for a high tackle on Solomone Kata, Freddie Steward went over for the bonus-point try eight minutes from time.
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On a chastening afternoon for the Saints, they also had to withdraw England stand-off Fin Smith late on after he had carried a leg injury for an hour of the game.
Leicester Tigers F Steward (G Pearson 79); A Radwan, W Wand (O Bailey 72), S Kata, G Hamer-Webb; B Searle, J van Poortvliet (T Whiteley 73); A van der Flier (T Haffar 73), J Blamire, (R Asiata 79), J Heyes (W Hurd 73), C Henderson (J Thompson 79), O Chessum, A Wainwright, F Carnduff, O Cracknell (J Moro 72).
Northampton Saints J Pater; T Freeman, R Hutchinson, F Dingwall, G Hendy; F Smith (O Sleightholme 72) A Mitchell (A McParland 58); E Iyogun (D Fischetti 62 ), C Langdon (R Smith 62), C Kundiona (I Neculai 51), A Coles, E Prowse, (JJ Van Der Mescht 62), J Kemeny, T Pearson (T Lockett 62), H Pollock (C Chick 52). Yellow card Lockett 70
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Referee Craig Maxwell-Keys.
Full report to follow…
05:11pm
That brings our coverage of today’s East Midlands derby to a close. Neil Squires’ full report will drop above soon. Thanks for joining us!
05:05pm
Leicester’s tight-head prop, who was named the player of the match, on those emotions at the break:
“It was a pretty hot changing room. We had to calm ourselves down a bit. But yeah, it added a bit of fuel to the fire. It means a lot to the locality. These fixtures are awesome and this is the best derby in the country.
05:02pm
On that scap down the tunnel:
“It’s part of the game isn’t it? Emotions are high, it’s physical. Everything’s in your face and there was a moment just before.
“We were frustrated in the first half. We had the ball in good areas. We went in and said let’s keep it simple, stick to the aerial contest and it will come.
04:59pm
Geoff Parling, the Leicester director of rugby, has come down from the stands and is fist-pumping his players and staff in their coaching area, as Tigers have the put-in at a scrum deep in their own half. Saints are powerless to influence things and Searle boots it out of play to the roars of a sold-out Welford Road.
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The Tigers take home the bragging rights! It was a stodgy first half from both teams – but Leicester were arguably second best with their faltering lineout. Who would have thought they needed a good old half-time scuffle to refocus them? It was a near-perfect second half from Parling’s outfit, who are now three wins from four. As for Saints, they still can’t win at Welford Road.
04:55pm
Nothing has gone Saints’ way this second half, as Freeman reacts to a bt of afters from Hamer-Webb. They look to launch one last assault in Tigers’ 22 – the visitors win a penalty and pick-and-go but are held up. In any case it would have been too little, too late after such a wretched forty mins by their lofty standards.
04:48pm
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Leicester get their lineout drive on and begin crabbing their way to the line. Hutchinson keeps Blamire out brilliantly before Tigers go wide and works its way to Steward, who has the footwork to outfox his England opposite Smith to glide under the posts! The conversion is good and Leicester, seemingly reinvigorated by that halftime scuffle, are closing in on a derby day win.
Taking off Henry Pollock for the extra heft of Callum Chick after 54 minutes was an understandable tactical move by Phil Dowson. It is a route one kind of a day.
But it probably does not do Pollock any favours in terms of pushing his case as a man for all seasons.
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He didn’t do a lot wrong today but neither did he shine in the way that he – in more conducive conditions – is capable of.
The Leicester crowd were predictably delighted to wave him on his way.
04:44pm
Hamer-Webb ambushes Freeman with some force as the Saints man gathers Searle’s kick from deep after the restart. He’s penalised for holding on. Tigers don’t manage to capitilise on it
Smith finds Hendy out wide with a sumptous cross-field kick and the winger goes on the charge. He’s hauled down after about 20 metres but Radwan cyncially steps in his passing channel – he’s shown a yellow by Maxwell-Keys straight away.
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Radwan is off.. or is he? The TMO has spotted a high hit from replacement lock Tom Lockett on Hamer-Webb in the build up to all of that.. and after a lengthy look Radwan’s yellow card is reversed and instead dished out to Lockett.
04:38pm
Saints, eager to get back into this contest, enjoy a sustained period of pressure in Tigers’ 22. Hendy chases a Smith kick but there’s too much on it and he slides into the advertising hoardings. The winger seems okay, but the visitors will come back for a penalty. There’s some staunch resistance from Tigers – Heyes leads more celebrations in the faces of Saints’ players as the hosts regroup and win a penalty. Massive opportunity missed by Saints.
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Oops, Saints leak a 17th penalty. Searle chucks an ambitious pass to Hamer-Webb, who in turn finds Wainwright out wide. The Welshman controls it exquisitely with a bit of footwork before being hauled to ground. Tigers are brought back for a pen, and Searle puts boot to ball in front of the posts. You feel Tigers have a bit of daylight now between their rivals.
04:31pm
That scrum before the Cameron Henderson try feels like a significant moment. There’s nothing a Welford Road full house likes to see more than an opposition pack on rollerskates at the set piece and that was Northampton in full retreat.
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You could sense the psychological lift it gave Leicester and, on the back of the lineout drive try that kicked off the second half from Jamie Blamire, it feels like a hard road back for Northampton.
They’re not the champions for nothing, though.
04:29pm
The momentum is with Leicester now. The hosts come forward again and Searle tries to find Radwan out wide with a toe-poke but Steward is there to carry it into touch. Leicester aren’t done just yet – Blamire chucks in another clean arrow – and the forwards to do the rest.
Everybody on Saints’ tryline is expecting Heyes to pick-and-go but the prop catches them all by surprise by astutely popping it up to Carnduff, who bundles over.
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It’s hasn’t been a good day from the tee for Searle, who misses another.
04:24pm
Play resumes and it’s a same Saints’ scrum, but Tigers get a huge shove on – Joe Heyes is in the thick of it – and the Tigers’ pack roar. The crowd loved that one.
The hosts kick to the corner, Blamire’s arrow is safely gathered by Henderson and the Tigers execute a superb training park move. Kata wins the collision and Heyes is among a number of decoy runners as JVP recycles quickly and the hosts spread it wide to Hamer-Webb, who finds Henderson on his outside. The lock bundles over in the corner and Leicester have lift-off!
04:18pm
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We have rugby again! Tigers go to the skies from the restart – Hamer-Webb gives chase – but doesn’t roll away and Saints wrestle back momentum, but can’t seem to sustain it and the hosts win it back. Steward does well to avoid being ambushed into touch – there’s a different intensity to the hosts this half, but neither side are having much luck keeping possession.
Pollock continues to give the hosts a headache, ripping the ball and Saints have the put-in at the scrum. The visitors ship it away quickly but play is stopped as Blamire, down injured, is attended to.
04:12pm
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A 10-point match so far in rainy conditions – not much to write home about other than the confrontation before the break. Tigers begin on the front foot and win an offside penalty and for what seems like the umpteenth time in this match kick to the corner. Have they tidied up their lineout? They’ve kept this one as simple as possible with a short throw-in.
Kundiona is pernalised for a high tackle on JVP. Another penalty Tigers.. and this time they make it count! Throw, catch, drive and they’re over as Blamire finds his way to the line. It’s route one stuff. Searle can’t add the conversion.
04:06pm
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Well, that was lively anyway. Full-scale conflagration to end a largely unwatchable half.
It was triggered by Alex Mitchell, of all people laughing, at Adam Radwan after he had been carried into touch in the final play of the half by George Hendy and Henry Pollock. Radwan took exception and from there things accelerated.
Leicester captain Ollie Chessum was at the heart of the pushing and shoving, snapping at Pollock in an argument that carried on with some pushing and shoving in the tunnel.
It gave the crowd something to get excited about after a poor 40 minutes.
Sometimes you get good games in bad conditions but this isn’t one of them.
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Northampton have had the better of things but just when they look capable of getting their intricate interplay going there is a handling error.
Leicester’s defence, roared on with ‘Tigers, Tigers’ chants whenever the home side are on the back foot can take some credit for that.
They are still very much in this, four points adrift, but the tightness of the scoreline is the best that can be said for this contest so far.
04:04pm
03:55pm
More frustration from Tigers at the scrum, who fail to get the shove on. Mitchell senses it and delays his put-in ever so slightly and it works a treat. Saints win the pen and hoof it downfield.. but now it’s their turn to make a hash of the lineout as Chessum, back from his HIA, gets his paws to the ball.
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Tigers take it wide and win a penalty and begin advancing into Saints’ 22.. they shift it wide to Radwan but the winger is brusqely shuffled into touch.. and theres some fiesty afters, in true derby fashion, ensues.
Tempers begin flaring as players from both sides get involved. Mitchell appears to say something to Chessum and then carnage ensues. In the melee, Kemeny and Wainwright are at each other. Chessum and Pollock exchange a few words and the drama continues as both teams head down the tunnel. Pollock stops halfway up the steps and appears to mimic doing up his boot laces, inviting a shove on from Chessum.
Believe it or not, that’s half-time.
03:47pm
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Tigers have a line-out and this time Langdon’s arrow is good and the home side looks to pounce. Van Poorvliet looks to scamper his way through a few white shirts before Carnduff makes a fine carry but the wet conditions derail Blamire, who spills it. Another opportunity wasted for the hosts, but they’ll have another opportunity.
Searle boots it into the corner.. this time it’s short but still Tigers manage to mess it up and knock on. Kemeny is being such a nuisance in there.
03:40pm
Mitchell gets scragged by Hamer-Webb and in the rain misses a kick attempt, as Tigers edge their way closer into Saints’ 22. The hosts are averaging only 50 per cent at the moment – Kemeny is making a real nuisance of himself and getting into Blamire’s head – and they lose another in a promising position.
03:37pm
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Saints are knocking on Tigers’ door and Fin Smith makes some good post-contact metres as he eats up grass and edges towards Tigers’ try line. Some staunch defence from the hosts, who survive after Prowse is penalised for not rolling away.
Chessum heads off for a HIA.
03:33pm
Eeek, after his 50m hoof Steward is the first to blink in a brief kick tennis exchange and spills the ball in Tigers’ territory. Tigers collapse the scrum – they’re pushing a bit too hard before the engagement – and Saints look to work up a head of steam.
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Smith asks questions with another chip over the defence but Tigers deal with it well enough and van Poortvliet fires it clear.
But Saints aren’t done, they come again and Smith looks cross field and picks out Rory Hutchinson, who is met by Hamer-Webb.
There’s a bit of spice between the pair before referee Craig Maxwell-Keys intervenes and declares it was a good contest.
03:27pm
Tigers have already crafted some decent opportunities in these opening exchanges but their execution has been poor, as the hosts come again – this time through Kata – but it’s Chessum who spills once more. Saints win a scrum penalty after van der Flier engages too early. Saints look to work their way down field but we’ll come back for a Tigers’ penalty after Pollock was offside from Smith’s kick.
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Steward lines up a kick from 50 metres and he splits the uprights. Tigers are on the board.
Fin Smith is hobbling a little which might cause some alarm in Northampton and beyond. Hopefully nothing serious for the England stand-off. He is still able to take re-starts so that is a good sign…
03:23pm
Craig Maxwell-Keys, the referee, won’t be short on advice this afternoon. Two penalties to Northampton and the home crowd are already growing restless.
He is going to need eyes in the back of his head this afternoon. It took all of two minutes for the first coming-together after a thumping double hit on Fin Smith from Archie van der Flier and Olly Cracknell.
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There’s something heartening primal about an East Midlands derby and this one feels like it is right on the edge. It’s a sell-out and it is intense.
03:21pm
Tigers respond positively by flooding Saints’ half and win a lineout deep in the red zone. It’s a huge defensive set from Saints, who manage to force their rivals back and Leicester can’t seem to make the pressure count.
Searle pokes through a cross-field grubber but there’s top much on it for Seale, but Tigers will come back for the free kick after Saints are penalised for collapsing a driving maul.
They come again but the Tigers lose it through Chessum five-metres out – it’s a very wet ball out there so we can expect to see a lot of that – and Pollock leads the celebrations among the forwards. You can bet he’ll be in their faces all afternoon.
03:16pm
Saints strike first! They make a mess of their first line out but Chessum manages to knock on and the visitors have a scrum in Tigers’ 22. The hosts are too eager to engage and Mitchell takes the free kick quickly. Saints edge forward with some patient phase play – they get the offside advantage and Smith chips the Tigers’ defence.
Billy Searle is tracking the ball but he’s scampering back awkwardly and completely misses the catch. Instead James Pater gathers the loose ball and watches it into his hands.. and grounds it. Saints strike first! Conversion is good.
03:09pm
Billy Searle gets proceedings underway and its Saints who gain some fine field position early on after the hosts are penalised for not rolling away. Fin Smith is smothered by a double-tackle and the England fly-half spills the ball. Saints don’t like it and there’s a few afters but things calm down pretty quickly. Tension already!
03:05pm
.. and enter what looks like a horrendously wet Welford Road. Rain is pouring – expect dropped balls and greasy conditions!
03:04pm
Our rugby reporter Charles Richardson relieves the time Manu Tuilagi gave one – or a few – to Chris Ashton back in 2011.
In a fiery – when is this fixture not? – first half, both were sin-binned for their involvement in what might be described as a disagreement.
Tuilagi took Ashton out, slightly high, off the ball as the wing attempted to support scrum-half Lee Dickson’s quickly taken penalty. Ashton then gave the 19-year-old, uncapped Tuilagi a little shove on the floor, before the red mist descended on the future England centre. Catch the full read here.
03:01pm
Henry Pollock’s cornrow phase is over. He’s sporting a mousy mop for today’s East Midlands derby.
The Northampton No 8 – currently warming up in a snood – will be pantomime-villain-in-chief for the Saints in these parts but he has a big afternoon ahead.
This is exactly the sort of occasion and arm wrestle which he needs to excel in to prove to Steve Borthwick he is worth more than a bench role for England next month.
02:47pm
Leicester were buoyed in the week by re-signing Jack van Poortfliet, who extended his contract with his boyhood club.
I grew up supporting Leicester, it’s always been my club,” said the England scrum half. This place feels like home in my rugby life. The club is in a really good position, I think we have a great group of lads and great coaches.
I love playing rugby here, I have my best mates here and I believe that we’ve got a group of lads that we can do great things with. I want to be in a place that I love playing for and I believe can win trophies.”
02:35pm
Squally conditions this afternoon at Mattioli Welford Road – in fact make that horrible. An interesting test then for Northampton as lovers of the beautiful game.
You would imagine that the rain and wind would suit a Leicester side whose DNA is set piece power better.
Expect the catch and drive to get plenty of game time and Jack van Poortvliet and Billy Searle to go to the air regularly. It could be a stern examination for teenage Saints full-back James Pater.
02:28pm
It’s a big day for Alex Coles, who celebrates his milestone 150th cap today.
The 27-year-old lock follows Fraser Dingwall, Rory Hutchinson and Alex Mitchell to become the fourth member of Saints’ current squad to reach 150 appearances for his boyhood club, eight years after making his debut in 2018.
Coles marks one of nine changes to Saints’ side for the Derby Day clash, with Emmanuel Iyogun, Curtis Langdon, Ed Prowse, Tom Pearson and Henry Pollock the other names coming into the forward pack.
Cleopas Kundiona retains his place in the front row while milestone man Coles joins Prowse in the second row against Tigers.
Josh Kemeny, with the 27-year-old continues at blindside flanker while Tom Pearson is set to make his first Prem appearance of the season.
Northampton Saints: J Pater; T Freeman, R Hutchinson, F Dingwall, G Hendy; F Smith, A Mitchell, E Iyogun, C Langdon, C Kundiona, A Coles, E Prowse, J Kemeny, T Pearson, H Pollock.
Replacements: R Smith, D Fischetti, I Neculai, JJ Van Der Mescht, T Lockett, C Chick, A McParland, O Sleightholme.
02:20pm
Parling has made five changes from the side that endured a 41-17 defeat to Pau.
Solomone Kata returns from injury to start at inside centre, with Gabriel Hamer-Webb and Jack van Poortvliet also coming into the backline to replace Ollie Hassell-Collins and Tom Whiteley respectively.
In the pack, Joe Heyes joins Archie van der Flier and Jamie Blamire who retain their places in the front row, while the second row make up of Cameron Henderson and Ollie Chessum remains unchanged.
Aaron Wainwright comes back into the starting lineup in the back row, with Finn Carnduff moving to openside flanker, with Olly Cracknell going at No 8.
Leicester: F Steward; A Radwan, W Wand, S Kata; G Hamer-Webb; B Searle, J van Poortvliet; A van der Flier, J Blamire, J Heyes, C Henderson, O Chessum, A Wainwright, F Carnduff, O Cracknell.
Replacements: R Asiata, T Haffar, W Hurd, J Thompson, J Moro, T Whiteley, O Bailey, G Pearson.
02:06pm
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints.
The Prem’s derby weekend continues today at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, where Geoff Parling’s side go head-to-head in with their East Midlands rivals.
Both Leicester and Northampton have two wins from the opening three rounds of the season and with both sides involved in a number of high-scoring encounters already in the new campaign, we could be in for a real treat.
Tigers started the season with a 38-40 loss at home to Saracens, but bounced back quickly with wins over Gloucester and Newcastle Red Bulls. They will be itching to right a few wrongs after suffering a chastening Champions Cup defeat in Pau last week.
Northampton, meanwhile, have notched up wins over Newcastle Red Bulls and Bath either side of loss to Bristol Bears.
A win today for Saints would be their first on the road since defeating Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park in April.
“It (the East Midlands derby) means a lot to everyone, we know it will be a great atmosphere at Mattioli Woods Welford Road,” said Parling.
“I don’t think with this sort of game either team has to build it up too much emotionally because that just comes, so I think it’s actually about being really really calm in the moment.”
“Hopefully we can put the best of ourselves out there and I’m sure Saints will be able to do exactly the same.”
Saints are without a victory in Leicester since January 2023, when a single point decided the 18-19 result.
Since then, the last five meetings between the sides have been won by the hosts on the day – with Saints last taking home the bragging rights when a Tom Litchfield hat-trick helped Northampton to a 45-31 win on home soil in last season’s league play-off.
Kick-off gets underway at 3.05pm. Stay with us here for all the latest updates.
