Leicester Tigers claimed a bonus-point win with four tries in a 33-26 victory at Gloucester Rugby in the second round of the Gallagher Premiership season on Friday evening.
In a tense tussle under lights as Gloucester unveiled their new artificial pitch at Kingsholm, momentum swung one way and then the other with the outcome finally decided by tryline defence from the visitors with the clock already at 80 minutes.
Tigers, though, were never headed after getting off to a clinical start with 13 unanswered points in the opening 13 minutes as George Ford’s two penalties were followed by a converted try for Harry Wells.
After former Tigers prop Fraser Balmain got Gloucester off the mark, Ellis Genge forced his way over for an 18-7 lead on the half-hour.
Gloucester trimmed the deficit to just six by the break but the jousting continued as Harry Potter provided the first points after the restart, only for the hosts to again reply, though Ford’s third penalty finally provided some breathing space with the lead at nine points.
Then with less than quarter of an hour to go, Nic Dolly steered a forward drive over the Cherry and Whites’ line, adding another try to the double he scored in Round 1 victory over Exeter, and although Tigers then conceded a fourth and braved the final few moments a man down after a yellow card, their defence stood up to the task of closing out a hard-earned five-pointer.
