Leicester Tigers v Saracens Gallagher Premiership Report
Flying ex-Falcon
By saracensfan62
January 5 2026
This was always going to be a tricky one. I’m sure nobody was casting aspirations as to what going to a sold out Welford Road and taking a win would require. Unfortunately we were not able to deliver the performance needed to take the win on Sunday, coming away with a single point from the 4TBP. I am going to be blunt and say it was a very very poor performance. It seems we are not learning from our mistakes. Really we needed significantly more, but sometimes you have to take what you can get. This is a very short report, should make for quick reading.
First Half
It was a fast and furious start to the match for both teams. Burke missed a pretty kickable penalty 2 minutes in after Leicester were adjudged to hold on at the breakdown. It was clear what tigers were up to early on though - They contested the aerial battle aggressively and pinned Sarries back. Billy Searle, Radwan and Bailey were causing our backline a whole load of problems and our forwards were struggling to ront up. Leicester scored their first try within 5 minutes. After forcing Saracens into a rushed clearance, Leicester counter-attacked from inside their own half. A clever attacking kick from Searle caused hesitation in the Saracens backfield, allowing Freddie Steward to collect and finish clinically.
Sarries attempted to respond with short carrying phases, but Leicester’s defensive line speed forced handling errors. Repeated Tigers line-outs inside the Saracens 22 built pressure and it was obvious the scrum was creaking. Following a wheeled scrum and Leicester advantage, Billy Searle thought he had the tigers 2nd, only for it to be chalked off for him not grounding the ball. No matter for the tigers though. From a 5-metre line-out, Leicester drove close before recycling quickly. Cracknell picked from the base and powered through Lucio Cinti to score. Saracens’ slow defensive realignment around the ruck cost them another 7 pointer. To make matters even worse, both JG2 and Big Nick were forced off due to head injuries. Maro Itoje and Theo Dan are not bad replacements however, but to be forced to use them so early on was unfortunate. Wishing speedy recoveries to them both.
Saracens finally established rhythm through Theo McFarland and Gonzalez, carrying tight and drawing penalties. Leicester were forced into multiple defensive sets near their own line. The discipline was improved at the breakdown and thus allowed them to retain possession for over three minutes, swinging momentum slightly.
Following some consecutive pick-and-go phases, McFarland crashed over next to the posts and Fergus Burke converted, making the score 14-7. Leicester responded ruthlessly and seemingly effortlessly. From the restart, Tigers won a crucial breakdown turnover and immediately went wide, stretching Saracens’ defensive width. Tigers attacked from their own 22 at depth, and Searle evaded the tackle (or lack thereof) of Tompkins and scarpered into the sarries half. His perfectly weighted grubber behind the defensive line was chased aggressively by Radwan, who won the footrace with Malins to score acrobatically in the corner. To make matters worse, Elliot Daly was sin-binned for a late tackle on Searle in the build-up, a foolish and reckless mistake and Instead of building pressure after scoring themselves, Saracens were almost immediately punished and then reduced to 14 men.
With Saracens down a man, Leicester dominated the field well. They slowed the tempo and controlled possession intelligently. The Tigers forwards worked through multiple phases, forcing Saracens to defend for long periods. Following A patient series of pick-and-go phases, which drew in defenders, Joe Heyes powered his way over close to the posts.
Leicester were leading very comfortably in territory, possession, and tackle dominance, while Saracens were forced to chase the game. This continued to be the case into the second half, maybe not quite as much but still noticeably.
Second Half
Leicester seemed to want to continue as they were in the first half, and Radwan thought he was in for a brace. Unfortunately for Tigers, JvP had knocked on in the buildup at a ruck and the chance faded. Saracens emerged with greater intent, using their forwards more directly. Carre, Willis and McFarland carried hard, while Leicester conceded penalties for offside and not rolling away. After sustained forward pressure inside the Leicester 5-metre zone, Carre forced his way over. Saracens began to believe, reducing the deficit and increasing tempo.
At the 55th minute, arguably one of the most crucial moments took place. Leicester halted Saracens’ momentum by winning a breakdown penalty. Searle calmly extended the lead. A mere 4 minutes later, a badly mis-timed pass from Ivan van-Zyl was read perfectly by Radwan, who intercepted near halfway and sprinted clear untouched, despite the best efforts of Elliot Daly. This try really ended any hopes of a comeback.
With little to lose, Saracens increased attacking ambition, moving the ball wider and introducing fresh legs from the bench such as JMG and Charlie Bracken.Following sustained pressure on the Tigers line, aforementioned Gonzalez could finish off the drive to the line finish in the corner.
Impact: Saracens claw back respectability and keep bonus-point hopes alive.
Leicester slowed play, used the kicking game intelligently, and focused on exit accuracy. Saracens continued to attack but found it difficult to break through organised defence. A late line break from Max Malins created space, allowing Charlie Bracken to score next to the posts, allowing us to grab a losing bonus point.
Full time Leicester Tigers 36 – 28 Saracens and probably what we deserved, if anything flattens us a little. Where do we go from here? Toulouse at StoneX. Could be an improvement, could be an absolute hammering. We shall see. I have faith in the team and coaching team to bounce back and come back all guns blazing next weekend.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:01:14:17:15:07 by Darraghgirl.
Felt front row played well and "Big" Nick and JG going off made us better and not first time this season thats been the case..
Yes I agree the front row had a good day at the office. Worried about the lack of physicality some of the forwards bring though. On paper we have a top set of forwards and the depth is great, but in practice we always lose the physical battle early on.
Re the forwards for me and I bang the drum constantly Isiekwe and Tizard are two of the biggest culprits re MIA when its tough sledding. Feel a Wilson type deserves a start ahead of them vs NRB.
Also I feel as ive stated before we have too many similar types...massive mistake in recruitment.
Appreciate what you do re these reports
Or does the same game plan invite opponents to defend better?
Tigers on Sunday went away from a bosh 12 to a distributor (injuries forced the change) but seemed to work!
Nick I has been our most impressive line out forward on our ball and the oppositions this season. He also makes a lot of tackles, although not dominant ones. Tizard has put himself about and, as others in this thread have said, has had a quietly impressive season.
With our forwards it's the overall pack performance that has lacked consistency. They haven't seemed a unit for a lot of the time. I don't think it's all down to individual performances.
Agree that Tizard is showing signs of life thankfully
Quote:TommyKentish
Agreed Eric, I think if we let Nick I go then we’ll regret it when we see how good he is at another club.
The Saints fans rate him highly.
If ever there was a sentence to sum up the last 3 seasons.
We have shown in parts we can do attack well so let's start with that ambition rather than dial it up once the game is almost over.
Well done on writing a tough review.
Quote:TogaQuote:TommyKentish
Agreed Eric, I think if we let Nick I go then we’ll regret it when we see how good he is at another club.
The Saints fans rate him highly.
They did have him him pre-surgery to be fair but I still don’t think we get anyone better than him on the market and he absolutely loves the club which again counts for a fair bit in my mind when trying to create a culture in the squad.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2026:01:07:05:36:10 by AlanE2.
Quote:TommyKentish
They did have him him pre-surgery to be fair but I still don’t think we get anyone better than him on the market and he absolutely loves the club which again counts for a fair bit in my mind when trying to create a culture in the squad.
We all need to be patient. Of course we would love to see Saracens playing champagne rugby and sitting at the top of the league, but things are not clicking at the moment. Jettisoning players and coaches who collectively possess hundreds of years of championship-winning intellectual property would be madness. Mark McCall has been clear that experienced players who cannot, or will not, maintain the required standards will not be tolerated — but that process takes time.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:01:07:07:24:58 by Toga.
I agree jettisoning players and coaches Willy nilly is silly however we have seen the improvement in scrummaging since Webber came in. For all our frustration in attack we have cared 4 plus tries in every match other than Quins and until last weekend we were top scorers despite both Faz and Burke kicking at lower than 70%. I would say a new voice in defence might well bring dividends and a new forwards/lineout coach. McCall I would keep unless things really fell apart. He is the club really and a big reason why we can still attract players like Martin and Williams.
Quote:TommyKentish
I agree with the patient part but in all honesty we have a team full of internationals. The standard we have witnessed this season is below what should be expected. If we wanted to we can have an entire 15 of internationally capped players, possibly missing one in the backline. That means we should have a baseline performance which we simply aren’t hitting.
I agree jettisoning players and coaches Willy nilly is silly however we have seen the improvement in scrummaging since Webber came in. For all our frustration in attack we have cared 4 plus tries in every match other than Quins and until last weekend we were top scorers despite both Faz and Burke kicking at lower than 70%. I would say a new voice in defence might well bring dividends and a new forwards/lineout coach. McCall I would keep unless things really fell apart. He is the club really and a big reason why we can still attract players like Martin and Williams.
The fact many of them are internationals is perhaps part of the problem - not because they're poor or past it, but because they are flogged 12 months of the year and pulled from pillar to post by different coaching teams and different training sessions out of sync with their club program. We are in a post-Lions season don't forget.
Quote:TogaQuote:TommyKentish
I agree with the patient part but in all honesty we have a team full of internationals. The standard we have witnessed this season is below what should be expected. If we wanted to we can have an entire 15 of internationally capped players, possibly missing one in the backline. That means we should have a baseline performance which we simply aren’t hitting.
I agree jettisoning players and coaches Willy nilly is silly however we have seen the improvement in scrummaging since Webber came in. For all our frustration in attack we have cared 4 plus tries in every match other than Quins and until last weekend we were top scorers despite both Faz and Burke kicking at lower than 70%. I would say a new voice in defence might well bring dividends and a new forwards/lineout coach. McCall I would keep unless things really fell apart. He is the club really and a big reason why we can still attract players like Martin and Williams.
The fact many of them are internationals is perhaps part of the problem - not because they're poor or past it, but because they are flogged 12 months of the year and pulled from pillar to post by different coaching teams and different training sessions out of sync with their club program. We are in a post-Lions season don't forget.
Again reasonable point but I’d have more patience if we were integrating the youngsters more. Sticking Caluori on the win every now and again isn’t enough. The age profile of the pack is pretty decent but we need people like Michelow (tbf not MM m’s fault he got a red then got injured) and Charlie West more in the back row to see if they can step up with Willis and maybe other departures. Even Sodeke can play 6.
Quote:LutonS
It's all very well calling for patience and pointing out the process takes time but, we've seen little or no progress in the past 2 seasons. IMO
What kind of timespan do you describe as patient?!
Quote:TommyKentish
Again reasonable point but I’d have more patience if we were integrating the youngsters more. Sticking Caluori on the win every now and again isn’t enough. The age profile of the pack is pretty decent but we need people like Michelow (tbf not MM m’s fault he got a red then got injured) and Charlie West more in the back row to see if they can step up with Willis and maybe other departures. Even Sodeke can play 6.
Look, I get it. Everyone thinks the next big thing is the young kid with the trick haircut and the bright coloured boots. But guess what, all the older lads were once that kid as well, except now they've bolted on experience as well. Caluori is doing well but he's still a kid and there is a duty of care to look after him. In a comment last well, somebody moaned that Caluori should be playing regardless despite a heavily strapped knee because 'he seemed to be alright running about in the warmup'. The coaches know when players are ready and whether they need more or less game time. Just try to recall all the players that McCall has brought through from the Saracens academy to the first team - he's known what he's doing.
1.
The younger players aren’t getting that much experience at the moment. Noah is getting some experience but it still feels odd to leave out our top try scorer (injury dependent - clearly he shouldn’t be playing if there is anything at all). Charlie spends most of each game on the bench, Sodeke hasn’t been seen since week 1, Kennedy Sylvester hasn’t been seen at all except in the cup where he played really well, same with Charlie West, Big Tayo, Mitch etc. Angus Hall isn’t seen often.
At some point they will need to play and we will actually have to do this whole transition thing. We’ll have to rip this plaster at some point. It just hasn’t been done yet.
2.
Which would be absolutely fine if the results were good and therefore justified picking the same outfit each week, but they’re not and they don’t. The results are bad, and the performances are probably worse and aren’t getting much better. In fact this season is worse than last season where we were still in it (ish) until the penultimate game at Saints. We’re already adrift halfway through the season (and having done the easier half imo).
So who is to say results would be far worse if we did play a bit more of a mixed team? I think everyone feels things would be improved if Charlie played instead of IVZ- but that’s not happening. I think it’s fair to say most of us think think the second row has done nothing to prevent seeing whether Sodeke can improve matters. Etc.
I think that’s the frustration. It isn’t wanting to see us play kids just because their age happens to be 10 years younger than another player -
It’s because we think maybe they could actually be better than what we’ve got at the moment.
Is he fighting for the shirt ahead of the arrival of Martin?
If so, that calls into question the mindset with regard to being comfortable.
Personally I don't have huge concerns around the pack. IMO we have achieved parity at least in pretty much every game over the 80mins. The young lads we do have I don't see as a step up just yet. The need to give them game time is a different conversation however.
In the backs, our lack of pace is killing us. Max is a defensive liability on the wing as he struggles to get across to the faster players he is up against. We also lack much threat on the counter attack.
If they weren't injured I imagine Tobias and Jack.B would be in the rotation, but without them I do think we need to give Angus and Noah more time on the pitch, accepting there will be a significant learning curve.
Quote:Stopsy
I was impressed with Tizzard’s game, much better than I have thought him previously.
Is he fighting for the shirt ahead of the arrival of Martin?
If so, that calls into question the mindset with regard to being comfortable.
A good theory, Stopsy.
I am one of Tiz’s supporters in light of some of the comments on this forum. I do think the ban debacle and how that was handled really dented his confidence and it has taken him until this season to rediscover it and try to be more physical. For me, along with Harry he is one of our better players this season and I hope he keeps progressing.
Quote:Stopsy
I was impressed with Tizzard’s game, much better than I have thought him previously.
Is he fighting for the shirt ahead of the arrival of Martin?
If so, that calls into question the mindset with regard to being comfortable.
Entirely possible we play Martin at 6 a lot, especially with Earl at 8.
Quote:Sarrov
Personally I don't have huge concerns around the pack. IMO we have achieved parity at least in pretty much every game over the 80mins. The young lads we do have I don't see as a step up just yet. The need to give them game time is a different conversation however
This is very much where I'm at.
We have a very good pack. We have some bright prospects in Knight, Michelow, Sodeke etc but none on the level that you'd suggest they should be displacing starters. Getting the game time is important though as you say.