Slater saves the day for Leicester

Round five of the Aviva Premiership saw Leicester Tigers meet Northampton Saints for the first time this season, and the first time since the eventful Premiership Final at Twickenham in May.

A sold-out Welford Road hosted the latest East Midlands derby, with Northampton hoping to make amends for their 37-17 defeat at the hands of Richard Cockerill’s men.

In a match that could prove crucial towards the end of the season with both teams vying for a top-four finish as well as a home semi-final, Dylan Hartley captained a Saints side that now includes George North and Alex Corbisiero, both try scorers in the Lions’ series-winning final Test in Sydney.

With the autumn internationals just around the corner, Northampton full-back Ben Foden was looking to show Stuart Lancaster what he is capable of having relinquished the England number 15 shirt last season through injury, Tom Wood was hoping to stake a claim for the England captaincy.

Tigers meanwhile fielded three Test Lions in their starting XV, but had to make do without a fourth, centre Manu Tuilagi, who has been ruled out for up to two months with torn pectoral muscle. Toby Flood continued to captain the side, with Graham Kitchener coming in for Lions lock Geoff Parling who was recovering from a knock sustained against Exeter.

Tigers won the toss and elected for Saints to get things under way, only for Leicester wing Blane Scully to be knocked out on catching Stephen Myler’s kick, losing some of the intensity usually present in the opening phases of an East Midlands derby.

After a strong opening scrum and line-out from Leicester they were rewarded with a penalty just inside the Saints’ half after interference from Northampton, but Flood failed to take advantage from the tee.

Leicester maintained the pressure on Saints with some slick passing rugby, but some good defence from Northampton led to a turnover and a charge into the opposition half. A penalty for Northampton resulted as Leicester failed to roll away and Myler was on target with the kick at goal to give Saints a 3-0 lead after eight minutes.

George Pisi then showed how dangerous he can be with ball in hand with a jinking run up to the Leicester 22, inspiring Saints to apply some real pressure and show their intent. Once the Tigers had halted Northampton’s attack, Luther Burrell was sent to the sin-bin after a dangerous tackle on Leicester’s Anthony Allen. Flood was this time successful with the resulting penalty.

Down to fourteen men for ten minutes, Saints impressed as the half progressed despite Leicester’s numerical advantage, with Myler adding a further six points from the boot to give Saints a 9-3 lead after 27 minutes. Flood then replied with a penalty two minutes later to reduce the deficit to just three points going into half-time.

After a penalty miss by Flood early in the second half, Northampton once again applied some strong pressure, with Corbisiero crossing from short range. Myler added the extras to give Saints a 16-6 lead after 47 minutes.

Northampton continued to play the better rugby throughout the third quarter and into the final quarter, with only a referral to the TMO preventing Sam Dickinson from scoring his first try for the Saints. Myler and Flood then exchanged penalties to leave the scoreline at 19-9 in Saints’ favour with thirteen minutes to go.

However it was at this point that, to the relief of a nervous home crowd, Leicester came to life, stringing together some good phases to ensure this match would not end in a first win for Northampton at Welford Road since 2007.

A Toby Flood penalty with nine minutes remaining set the Tigers on their way, and their intense pressure in the Saints’ 22 finally paid off as Ed Slater crossed the line four minutes from time. Flood converted to level the scores at 19-19, which is how it remained until the final whistle.

Saints will be disappointed not to have come away with a prized victory at Welford Road having led 19-9 with just ten minutes to go, but Leicester deserved their last-gasp try, and ultimately a draw was a fair result in this exciting East Midlands derby.