Leicester Tigers will not be represented in the Singha Premiership Rugby Sevens Finals after bowing out of the regional stages at Newcastle on Saturday.The Tigers had hoped to make it a hat-trick of finals appearances, but were out of the running after defeats in their opening two matches against Newcastle Falcons and Worcester Warriors at Kingston Park, followed by a third loss to Sale Sharks.
Falcons, with more than half of their squad made up of specialists from the Scotland Sevens squad, made that experience count as they ran in eight tries in a 50-12 victory over Tigers in the afternoon’s opening action.
After conceding an early score, Tigers bounced back with a try from Ryan Olowofela, supporting a positive run from George Worth. The conversion from Worth made it 7-7, but it was the final Tigers score until the closing stages as Falcons dominated possession and clinically finished their own opportunities.
Falcons led 43-7 by the time Jordan Olowofela added a score for Tigers and there was still time for the hosts to break away and reach the half-century mark.
After watching Warriors and Sharks share the points in a 19-19 draw, Tigers were back in action against Worcester and took an early lead as Worth sprinted clear on the left.
Ben Pons then produced a try-saving tackle on George De Cothi but Warriors regained possession close to the Tigers line and opened their account when Dean Hammond provided the finish.
From that point, Warriors dominated the opportunities to score, with former Tigers academy full-back Perry Humphreys claiming two tries inside 60 seconds on their way to a 27-5 victory.
Tigers’ final game was against a Sale side also without a win in their two games but still with a chance of pipping Warriors to the second qualifying place.
Sharks led 14-0 before Jordan Olowofela claimed his second try of the day with a smart finish on the right. Jon Hargreaves added the extras. But, as in the previous match, two quickfire scores turned the game firmly away from Tigers’ reach and Sharks stretched out to take a 40-5 verdict.
As a result, they followed hosts Newcastle in claiming a Finals slot at The Stoop next Friday evening.
The next Tigers action is back on home turf in the Marcos Ayerza Testimonial Challenge against Los Pumas on Saturday, September 5. Tickets are available now.
Leicester Tigers squad
1 George Nairn
2 Jake Farnworth (c)
3 George Worth
4 Stone Priestley-Nangle
5 Ben Pons
6 Wesley Douglas
7 Will Evans
8 Oliver Povoas
9 Ben White
10 John Hargreaves
11 Jordan Olowofela
12 Ryan Olowofela
Newcastle Falcons: 1 Joe Craggs, 2 Scott Riddell, 3 Callum Chick, 4 Gavin Lowe, 5 Scott Wight, 6 James Johnstone, 7 Dan Marshall, 8 Mark Robertson, 9 Ruaridh Dawson, 10 Joe Nayacavou, 11 James Fleming, 12 Jamie Farndale.
Sale Sharks: 1 Nev Edwards, 2 Liam Parfitt, 3 Matt Postlethwaite, 4 George Nott, 5 Matt Rogerson, 6 Charlie Ingall, 7 John O'Donnell, 8 Sam James, 9 James Mitchell (c), 10 Tom Morton, 11 Tim Jeffers, 12 Mark Jennings
Worcester Warriors: 1 Huw Taylor (c), 2 Dean Hammond, 3 Heath Stevens, 4 George de Cothi, 5 Jamie Shillcock, 6 Perry Humphreys, 7 Josh Adams, 8 Mat Gilbert, 9 Jonas Mikallcius, 10 Will Butler, 11 Ben Fowles, 12 Robbie Smith
