Leicester Tigers returned to the top of the Guinness A League Northern Conference with a 32-18 victory at Northampton on Monday afternoon.
With the strength of the teams put out by each club matching the strong wind that whipped across the pitch throughout, a tight contest was anticipated by the 250-strong crowd at the back pitch at Franklin's Gardens.
Tigers included first-team squad men Johne Murphy, Leon Lloyd, Matt Cornwell and Tom Varndell in the backline, with Scott Bemand at scrum-half, and a pack featuring Gavin Hickie on his return from an eye injury, with Michael Holford, Tom Croft and Jordan Crane, all looking to stake claims for the squad to go to Ireland in the Heineken Cup this weekend. Assistant forwards coach Graham Rowntree made a 15-minute appearance as a second-half replacement.
The home support had reason to cheer in the opening minutes as Matthieu Bourret landed a penalty, the first of two in the first quarter by the French wing who also scored a try against Tigers in the EDF Energy Cup tie this season. But Tigers grabbed the first try of the afternoon as Tom Varndell made a 70-metre sprint for the line after the Leicester pack had disrupted a Wanderers put-in to a scrum deep in Tigers territory. Once Varndell had rounded opposite number Bourret, he was away and clear, and the try was a formality.
Bourret's second penalty put Wanderers' noses back in front and they created further scoring opportunities, only to see the Frenchman's pass to Rob Laird float into touch and Dan Lavery's pass to Ben Lewitt being ruled forward under the bar. Alex Rae then powered through for Northampton's first try and Bourret's touchline conversion increased the hosts' lead to eight points.
Tigers No.8 Jordan Crane got on the scoresheet with a try two minutes later as his side trailed by three points approaching the half-time break. Then in injury time, Tigers stormed in front with two quickfire scores. First, back row Alex Shaw pounced on loose line-out ball close to the Northampton line to score and then, with the last play of the half, skipper Matt Cornwell grabbed another touchdown. The conversion from fly-half Ben Youngs made it 22-13 to Tigers.
The second half saw Tigers control much of the possession as they pinned the home side back. They had to be patient, though, and did not add to the score until the hour mark when flanker Ben Pienaar claimed his side's fifth try. Youngs added the conversion and followed up with a 66th-minute penalty to seal a hard-earned victory.
There was a consolation try for Chris Wyles on the stroke of full-time after good work by Ben Lewitt and replacement Adam Barnard.
With the strength of the teams put out by each club matching the strong wind that whipped across the pitch throughout, a tight contest was anticipated by the 250-strong crowd at the back pitch at Franklin's Gardens.
Tigers included first-team squad men Johne Murphy, Leon Lloyd, Matt Cornwell and Tom Varndell in the backline, with Scott Bemand at scrum-half, and a pack featuring Gavin Hickie on his return from an eye injury, with Michael Holford, Tom Croft and Jordan Crane, all looking to stake claims for the squad to go to Ireland in the Heineken Cup this weekend. Assistant forwards coach Graham Rowntree made a 15-minute appearance as a second-half replacement.
The home support had reason to cheer in the opening minutes as Matthieu Bourret landed a penalty, the first of two in the first quarter by the French wing who also scored a try against Tigers in the EDF Energy Cup tie this season. But Tigers grabbed the first try of the afternoon as Tom Varndell made a 70-metre sprint for the line after the Leicester pack had disrupted a Wanderers put-in to a scrum deep in Tigers territory. Once Varndell had rounded opposite number Bourret, he was away and clear, and the try was a formality.
Bourret's second penalty put Wanderers' noses back in front and they created further scoring opportunities, only to see the Frenchman's pass to Rob Laird float into touch and Dan Lavery's pass to Ben Lewitt being ruled forward under the bar. Alex Rae then powered through for Northampton's first try and Bourret's touchline conversion increased the hosts' lead to eight points.
Tigers No.8 Jordan Crane got on the scoresheet with a try two minutes later as his side trailed by three points approaching the half-time break. Then in injury time, Tigers stormed in front with two quickfire scores. First, back row Alex Shaw pounced on loose line-out ball close to the Northampton line to score and then, with the last play of the half, skipper Matt Cornwell grabbed another touchdown. The conversion from fly-half Ben Youngs made it 22-13 to Tigers.
The second half saw Tigers control much of the possession as they pinned the home side back. They had to be patient, though, and did not add to the score until the hour mark when flanker Ben Pienaar claimed his side's fifth try. Youngs added the conversion and followed up with a 66th-minute penalty to seal a hard-earned victory.
There was a consolation try for Chris Wyles on the stroke of full-time after good work by Ben Lewitt and replacement Adam Barnard.
Teams:
Northampton Wanderers: Going, Bourret (Barnard 57min), Wyles, Mallon, Laird (Smith 22min); Lavery, Pointon (capt); Beech (Rowley 61min), Hartley (Richmond 45min), Tonga'uiha, Browne, Hoy (Percival 57min), Rae (Burke 69min), Lewitt, Harding.
Tries: Rae, Wyles
Conversion: Bourret
Penalties: Bourret (2).
Leicester Tigers: J Murphy; Culpin, Lloyd (McNulty 73min), Cornwell (capt), Varndell; B Youngs, Bemand; Holford (Rowntree 64min), Hickie (Collett 67min), Young (Cole 33min), Gillanders, Shaw, Pienaar, Croft, Crane (Nimmo 40min).
Tries: Varndell, Crane, Shaw, Cornwell, Pienaar
Conversions: Youngs (2)
Penalty: Youngs
