Leicester Tigers v Saracens Report
A flying Angus
By saracensfan62
April 2 2025
Whatever McCall put in the players breakfast tea worked a treat! Sarries bounced back tremendously at a raucous Welford Road on Sunday. In the beautiful spring sunshine, a clearly hyped Saracens team ground out a huge 5 point win which has massively boosted our play-off aspirations. We now sit in 6th place, joint with Sale on points and only a few behind 3rd and 4th place.
First Half
The match began at a fast and furious pace, with sarries dominating the early exchanges. Sadly poor Fraser Balmain had to come off after sustaining an injury just 1 minute in. However, Sarries did not allow this setback to affect them. After some sustained pressure in the Tigers 22 and a flowing backs move, JG2 was eventually able to crash over from a couple of metres out to make the score 5-0, Lozowski duly converting to make it 7-0 to us. A mere 5 minutes later, following a break in the midfield and another 22 entry, Fergus Burke was able to offload to a galloping Juan Martin Gonzalez who raced through under the posts. Just 10 minutes gone and sarries were 14-0 up and signs looked promising. Tigers had some sustained pressure on the sarries lien and thought they had a try on the 13 minute mark following a huge lineout drive, but Luke Pearce was unable to determine whether the ball was grounded so Tigers had a 5m scrum, from which Solomone Kata was held up. Sarries could clear their lines and breathe. This wasn’t to last for long though, as Tigers were able to respond just before 20 minutes. Following some big carries from the Tigers pack, the ball was spun to Handre Pollard. Noticing Angus Hall flying up in the defensive line, he threw a lovely flat ball across the sarries defence, allowing Freddie Steward to race through and dot down. Pollard demonstrated his class again with a drop goal to narrow the gap to 4, however, following a missed penalty, Lozowski kicked one drop goal of his own to regain the 7 point lead.
Just before half time and following another big catch and drive that sarries somehow (I think it was Nick Tompkins) and heroically stopped, Hanro Liebenberg was able to drive over to make the score 15-17. Pollard was unable to convert so it was Sarries who (deservedly) had the lead at HT.
Second Half
The 2nd half started as quickly as the first, with Pollard putting in a little nudge into the sarries 22 which caused havoc for IvZ who dropped the ball, allowing Tigers to regain possession. Good work from Adam Radwan allowed the ball to be sent wide for an onrushing Hanro Liebenberg to sell a dummy to the sarries defence and slide over the sarries tryline. Pollard added the extras. 22-17 to Tigers.
It did not take long for Saracens to respond. Following some phases in the tigers 22, Daly was able to send the ball wide with a lovely flat pass to find academy graduate Angus Hall who raced towards the line and finished with an acrobatic dive, even placing the ball one-handed. Lozowski couldn’t convert so we were level. 22 all. A series of forced errors from Saracens with Fergus Burke knocking on and Julian Montoya forcing a turnover (sarries holding on at the breakdown) allowed them some field position. Meanwhile sarries unleashed our ‘bomb squad’ esque bench with Theo Dan, Ben Earl and Nick Isiekwe. Unfortunately poor Loz sustained an injury and had to be subbed off around 60 minutes, seeing Daly go to 13 and Goodey to full back. Let’s hope Loz is back soon, he is so integral to our squad these days.
Sarries had some attacking ball in the tigers 22 however Angus Hall was forced into touch. From the resulting lineout, a combination of a lapse in tigers communication and Maro Itoje forced an overthrow which led to Theo Dan pouncing and forcing his way over the line. Burke (taking over kicking duties) slotted the extras to make it a 7 point lead. Much to the dismay of the crumbie, Tigers had a try disallowed when Cameron Henderson charged down IvZ from an offside position. After this, Daly missed a long range penalty effort so it stayed a one-score game but even with multiple substitutions, Tigers were unable to find the sarries try line and we ground out a huge BP win.
Key Players
Leicester Tigers:
- Hanro Liebenberg: The South African flanker was instrumental for Leicester, scoring two pivotal tries in quick succession around halftime. His first try came in added time at the end of the first half, and his second shortly after the restart, propelling the Tigers to a 22-17 lead
- Freddie Steward: The full-back showcased his attacking prowess by finishing a well-executed move to score Leicester's opening try, keeping the team competitive during the early stages.
- Julián Montoya: Despite a critical lineout error late in the game, the captain and hooker was heavily involved in the forward exchanges, contributing to Leicester's physical presence and set-piece plays throughout the match.
Saracens:
- Maro Itoje: The lock delivered an exceptional performance, playing his 14th consecutive game and earning the player of the match accolade. His leadership and defensive energy were pivotal in galvanizing Saracens, especially during crucial moments.
- Theo Dan: The hooker capitalized on a mismanaged Leicester lineout to score a decisive try, shifting momentum in Saracens' favour during the latter stages of the match.
- Jamie George: The experienced hooker contributed significantly with an early try, setting the tone for Saracens' initial dominance and providing leadership in the forward pack.
Conclusion
Seems our playoff hopes are well and truly alive! Many identified this as a key match to win and we went and did it! Well done to all the travelling fans too, your vocal efforts were heard and appreciated. Onto Toulon next weekend, well I expect many of our internationals will be rested for this one. It’ll be a tough match, but we could always give them a surprise, much like what happened at the Castres match back in January, Hopefully we will be on the right side of the scoresheet this time around.
All that is left to say is a huge well done to the players and coaches for bouncing back in style. Come on you sarries
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:04:16:19:59:59 by Darraghgirl.
I'd start him over Dan in the Premiership right now. He's a really solid set piece hooker and adds a bit at the breakdown. He lacks Dan's carrying and dynamism but he's got good arrows and is better technically at scrum time.
We might be short on crash ball centres. Dan at 12 with Earl at 13 anyone.