Saracens edge Leicester 40-38 in Welford Road thriller

Saracens held on to beat Leicester Tigers 40-38 at Welford Road on Sunday, 27 September, in a frantic opening-weekend contest in The Prem.

It finished with just two points in it. Saracens led 21-12 at half-time, then had to defend that lead for the final half-hour after going down to 14 men, according to BBC Sport.

The win made a victorious return for Brendan Venter, at the start of his second stint in charge of Saracens. Leicester had been scheduled to host Saracens in the Gallagher PREM at 15:00 on 27 September, according to Leicester Tigers, and the visitors struck first and kept finding scores when they needed them.

Saracens scored six tries in all. Juan Martin Gonzalez, Tobias Elliott, Elliot Daly and Ben Earl crossed once each, while winger Rotimi Segun scored twice. Burke added five conversions, the kicked extras worth two points each that follow a try, worth five points.

Leicester answered with six tries of their own. Solomone Kata opened their account, Adam Radwan and James Thompson also scored, and winger Gabriel Hamer-Webb claimed a hat-trick of three tries. Billy Searle kicked four conversions.

The turning point came in the 54th minute. Saracens lock Nick Isiekwe was shown a 20-minute red card by referee Ian Tempest for a high tackle on Leicester full-back Freddie Steward. Under that law, the offender leaves the game permanently but his team can bring on a replacement after 20 minutes.

Leicester made the extra man count. Hamer-Webb completed his treble and the Tigers kept coming, cutting the gap to a single score and setting up a tense finish. Saracens, led by man of the match Tomos Williams at scrum-half, did just enough to close the game out.

What makes this stand out is how the momentum kept swinging. Saracens looked in control at 21-12. Then the red card tilted the field, Leicester smelled a comeback, and every Saracens carry into contact became about slowing the game down and protecting the ball.

For fans, this means a lively start to the season. The result was the fourth away win out of five on the opening weekend of The Prem season, suggesting home advantage counted for little in round one.