When the stakes are at their highest as the Premiership season approaches its final furlongs, every moment, every mistake, could be crucial. There could have been as many as 11 points between Leicester and Saracens here come full time and, with Mark McCall’s side without a league victory since 4 January, it was not an exaggeration to suggest their season was on the line.
Defeat would have not made it mathematically impossible to reach the playoffs, but statistically improbable. When the pressure was at its highest, Saracens survived to claim a victory that not only shapes their season but perhaps influences the fate of several other teams, including the side they defeated in the spring sunshine.
There are now five teams separated by just four points with five rounds to go: Leicester, Gloucester, Sale, Saracens and Harlequins are now all within a victory of one another. But it could have easily been so different had the Tigers held their nerve.
The game’s decisive moment – and one that could have huge ramifications on it all come May – was an error by the home side.
Leicester’s lineout had been poor all afternoon and when Julián Montoya’s throw sailed over everyone and, with the aid of some disruption from the outstanding Maro Itoje, into the hands of Theo Dan to give him a free run to the line, the whole complexion of both the Tigers’ and Saracens’ seasons shifted. Until that point, Leicester had seemed more likely to win but one thing McCall’s team have historically shown is that if you give them a chance they cannot be written off.
Dan’s try gave the visitors a seven‑point advantage and, despite some nervy moments late on, they held on for victory. Ultimately, they found a way and the reactions at full time from their players underlined how significant a day this was. They knew what the consequences were if they slipped up at this juncture. But after the disappointment of a “home” defeat by Harlequins at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last week, they held their nerve.
“We felt like a team again, and that’s the feeling we want to chase all year,” McCall said. “We had to do a lot of defending but we did it with huge energy and we found a way. We’re back in the fight.”
Leicester will look back on this as a missed opportunity. After falling behind to early tries from Jamie George and Juan Martín González, they responded magnificently before that late mistake.
Their early pressure initially came to little but you always felt the Tigers would score points at some stage. That proved to be the case when Freddie Steward finished a fine move, before Handré Pollard and Alex Lozowski – who left the field late on with an ankle problem – exchanged drop goals. That made it 17-10 to the visitors but two tries in three minutes either side of half-time firmly swung the contest on its head.
They were both scored by Hanro Liebenberg; his first coming in added time at the end of the first half before Sarries inexplicably turned over possession close to their own line shortly after the restart. That gave Leicester the platform to work it left and allow the South African the space to finish well. Pollard missed the first conversion attempt but nailed the second and suddenly Leicester were 22-17 ahead.
Given how below-par McCall’s team have been of late, not least last week, you wondered if their early sluggishness in the second half was a hint towards another disappointing outcome looming on the horizon. But instead of crumbling under the pressure, Saracens thrived. Spearheaded by another imperious display from Itoje, who is due a well-earned rest in the coming weeks, Sarries responded.
Angus Hall produced a sensational one-handed finish to level the scores on his first Premiership start, before Dan capitalised on that wayward Leicester lineout to score what turned out to be the decisive try, bringing with it a bonus point.
The Tigers, though, thought they had scored through Cameron Henderson but he was adjudged to have been offside when charging down Ivan van Zyl’s kick.
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“The play where we gave away the try, that’s the close quarter plays you need to keep in mind to beat a time like this,” Michael Cheika, Leicester’s head coach, conceded.
The results elsewhere over the weekend had already hinted we were heading to the most compelling finale to a Premiership season in years, and Saracens delivering when it mattered most here simply reinforced that point further. Strap yourselves in: this will be some run to the finish line.
