Leicester player ratings: Devastating try scoring display from ‘electric’ wingers marred by ‘disgraceful sportsmanship’ as ‘thug’ causes mass brawl

Leicester Tigers beat Northampton Saints 41-17 in the PREM on Saturday to reinforce their playoff hopes, pushing ahead of both Exeter Chiefs and Bristol Bears in the table.

Here are our Leicester player ratings from the match:

Backs

15 Freddie Steward: The England fullback put in a great pass to set Ollie Hassell-Collins for his try, and was solid throughout. Had a real battle with Henry Pollock when the young flanker came on, which Steward won spectacularly, screaming down at his young international teammate after scoring a brilliant try of his own. 7

14 Adam Radwan: Electrically elusive as always, he did so well to come in off his wing and get his hands on the ball throughout, beating five defenders, making 71 metres and scoring a try from 16 carries. 8

13 William Wand: Didn’t get his hands on the ball too much, but certainly made the most of it when he did. He made a line break and 52 metres, scoring a well-deserved try towards the end of the game. 7

12 Orlando Bailey: The former Bath playmaker has come on leaps and bounds since arriving at Leicester Tigers, and appears at home in the 12 shirt. He used his expert passing to really stretch the Saints’ defence and create space for his attacking runners. His catch in the air and pop for Radwan’s try took a serious amount of composure, as did his razor-sharp step which broke the line in a previous move. 8

11 Oliver Hassell-Collins: A terrible clearance kick early doors made many concerned that the exiled England winger was about to have a disastrous performance. The reality could not be further from. By the end of the game, he had carried the ball further than anyone else, made double the number of line breaks that any teammate, and scored a try. 8

10 James O’Connor: Attacked the gainline well and gave those around him the space to make an impact. In such an open game as this was, JOC’s fast footwork and quick thinking were perfect for the job. 7

9 Jack Van Poortvliet: It was a battle of the England scrum halves, and JVP came out on top. His speed of ball from the breakdown was good, but it was his open play kicking that really allowed him to stand apart – most notably for Radwans’ try. 7

Forwards

8 Joaquin Moro: The Argentine number 8 did not stop running the entire time he was on the field, topping both the tackle and carry charts. Although neither actions were as effective as certain teammates of his, no one can knock his intense work rate. 6

7 Tommy Reffell: The Welsh openside flanker was aggressive in the carry, showing incredibly quick footwork in attack, and was unrelenting in defence. The 27-year-old’s most impressive action of the afternoon was when he put in a huge hit on Fin Smith to force an attacking penalty. 7

6 Hanro Liebenberg: Guilty of giving away a couple of criminal penalties, particularly when Northampton were pinned, but made up for it with a brilliant lineout win, some huge hits, and a godlike level of composure as Pollock squared up to him like a jack in the box. 8

5 George Martin: Took the opening try well and performed solidly in the lineout. Used those around him cleverly, and showed great handling skills despite his incredibly large frame. 6

4 Ollie Chessum: Made a brilliant lineout steal on his own 5 metre line, and continued in the same vein throughout, winning a total of nine jumps. Defensively, he was a bit of a liability, missing four tackles, but with ball in hand, he showed great stride length to trouble the Saints’ defensive line. 7

3 Joe Heyes: For the most part, it was a pretty impressive showing. He helped the Tigers win a penalty at the scrum in the Saints’ half and put plenty of hits in. His day will be remembered for showing some pretty disgraceful sportsmanship after Blamire’s second try, however. Acting the thug, the England prop pushed two Saints players out of the way, causing a mass brawl which almost boiled over into the crowd. 3

2 Jamie Blamire: Great darts and two brilliantly taken tries. Only blemish was his slightly weak effort in a couple of tackles – but his quality in the lineout more than made up for it. 8

1 Nicky Smith: Another solid performance. He did not miss a single tackle, was utterly dominant in the scrum and showed a great ground game, winning two turnovers. 8

Replacements: Besides the cards for Izaia Perese and Charlie Clare, the Tigers‘ bench made an incredibly positive impact. Their job was to keep the intensity of those before them, and they did not disappoint, only building upon the platform that had been laid before them. The standout was Solomone Kata, who made some great run with the ball and helped bring those around him into the game. 7

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