Fly-half Vesty knocked over the penalty with the last kick of the game to give Tigers a winning start under new head coach Richard Cockerill and keep them top of the Guinness Premiership table.

Vesty had also kicked a first-half penalty while there were tries for Scott Hamilton, his ninth of the season, and Ayoola Erinle, his first of the season .

Tigers had trailed to Francisco Leonelli’s try in the third minute, while Glen Jackson added the conversion and two penalties for Saracens.

But Tigers dug deep in the second half to come from behind and claim an important win that guaranteed a top-four finish.

They had been forced into a late change at scrum-half after Julien Dupuy withdrew through injury. Harry Ellis stepped up from the bench with Ben Youngs coming into the replacements.

Back-row duo Craig Newby and Jordan Crane returned to the starting XV, while Tom Croft moved into the second row and Johne Murphy came in on the wing. Benjamin Kayser was named among the replacements after recovering from a neck injury.

Saracens lock Kris Chesney made his 338th club appearance and his last at Vicarage Road. Hugh Vyvyan, Justin Melck and Tom Mercey joined him in the pack.

It was the home side who put on the early pressure when they overturned Scott Hamilton in possession on the edge of the Tigers 22. They forced an attacking line-out on the right and when the ball was thrown long, Vyvyan made the most of the bounce to find Leonelli for a score under the posts. Jackson converted to put Saracens 7-0 ahead.

Tigers had a chance to strike back immediately when front-row forwards Martin Castrogiovanni and George Chuter found space in midfield. However, Tigers failed to make the most of the opportunity as Chuter threw a forward pass in trying to free Hamilton on the wing.

Tigers maintained the pressure by overturning the scrum to lay the platform for their first try of the game. They forced Saracens back into their 22 with a series of phases before Hamilton picked the ball up at the base of a ruck and went himself to score on the right-hand side. Vesty was off target with the conversion to leave Tigers 7-5 behind after nine minutes.

Jackson then missed a 30m penalty from in front of the posts, his kick grazing the outside of the left-hand upright. But the Saracens fly-half was on target with another effort from a similar position after 24 minutes as Tigers infringed at the breakdown.

Saracens were then penalised for holding on in the tackle presenting Vesty with a simple penalty in front of the posts that he knocked over. It proved the last score of the half as Tigers went in 10-8 behind at the break.

Vesty missed the chance to put Tigers ahead for the first time in the match when he was off-target with a second penalty three minutes after the restart.

Tigers were enjoying plenty of possession as the second-half settled down but were being repelled by a well-marshalled Saracens defence.

Eventually the possession told and Tigers forced their way through 17 minutes into the second half. Ben Youngs, on as a replacement for Ellis, made the initial break when he darted down the side of a ruck and took play into the Saracens 22. Hipkiss continued the move but was dragged down five metres out before Youngs switched the attack to the left where Erinle finished in the corner. It put Tigers ahead for the first time in the game at 13-10, but Vesty was unable to add to the lead with his conversion.

Saracens drew level with 14 minutes of the game remaining when Tigers were penalised for not rolling away at the breakdown and Jackson’s penalty inched over from 35m.

They threatened to reclaim the lead moments later when Seru Rabeni lost possession in the Saracens half and Brad Barritt hacked the loose ball upfield and into the Tigers 22. Johne Murphy came across from his wing to gather possession under pressure before Youngs completed the clearance.

Tigers survived another scare with eight minutes remaining when Jackson struck the left-hand post with a 30m penalty and the ball bounced into Kayser’s arms.

Tigers finished the game on the attack and were presented with the chance to claim a dramatic late win when referee David Rose whistled for Saracens hands in the ruck.

Vesty kept his composure and made no mistake with his penalty from 30m out to give Tigers a dramatic 16-13 victory.