Saracens player ratings v Leicester Tigers: ‘Silly good antics’ from British and Irish Lions recruit gets England star ‘out of jail’ after red card
Tomos Williams (right) and Fergus Burke (left) were among the key performers for Saracens in their win over Leicester
Following Saracens’ 40-38 win over Leicester Tigers in round one of the 2026/27 PREM Rugby season, here is how we scored Brendan Venter’s side.
Saracens player ratings v Leicester Tigers
15 Elliot Daly: Some lovely bits of play from the experienced back, as he made a welcome return to the side following a lengthy absence at the end of last season. Those touches eventually saw him involved in the scoring, too, with a try and an assist for his efforts. 7
14 Tobias Elliott: Started brightly and got himself a try in the process, and did well upon his return from an HIA to end the game with the most metres out of any Saracens player. 7
13 Nick Tompkins: Steady without setting the pitch alight. Trucked hard through the middle, made his tackles when needed and chucked a pinpoint assist to Rotimi Segun in the second-half. 6
12 Olly Hartley: Picked up an arm injury after just 15 minutes and didn’t return. Hopefully it’s not as serious as it first appears. N/A
11 Rotimi Segun: Really exciting player, who continues to show himself as an elite finisher with two scores in this one. Also posed plenty of questions ball-in-hand with some mazy runs. 7
10 Fergus Burke: Felt like a big season for him coming into the year, and made a bright start in game one. Seemed to play with a lick of flair and creativity ball-in-hand, particularly in the early stages, and went well off the tee with five conversions. 7
9 Tomos Williams: Up to some silly good antics for his new employers, which is exactly why they signed him. So dangerous when playing with quick-ball, but combined that with some pinpoint distribution from the base and a strong link-up with half-back partner Burke. Really lovely display from the Player of the Match. 9
Back-row
8 Alfie Barbeary: An industrious PREM debut for his new employers, all in all. Always eager to get his hands on the ball and put in the hard yards, consistently breaking the gainline and helping give Saracens good ball in the process. 6
7 Juan Martin Gonzalez: Strong effort from the ever-impressive back-rower. Acted as his side’s chief defensive enforcer throughout his shift with 16 tackles to his name, and blended that with some nice attacking touches and a well-taken try for good measure. 7
6 Nick Isiekwe: Worked hard in the tight on a day that called for it, but his red card blots the copybook. Luckily for him, his teammates got him out of jail and came up with the victory. 5
Tight five
5 Hugh Tizard: By no means the prettiest, flashiest display from the lock, but he rolled up his sleeves and went looking for work. 6
4 Maro Itoje: Back with a bang for his club after his extended summer break, as he ran his blood to water. Got himself heavily involved in the defensive efforts across the 80 minutes with 15 tackles to his name, bossed proceedings in the lineout and made some nice carries when called upon. Bodes well moving forward. 8
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
3 Marcus Street: A tough day of it, finding himself second-best in his scrum battle against Mako Vunipola and then being taken off at half-time. 5
2 Theo Dan: A bruising shift from the hooker, who went the distance for his side. Did well at the lineout, got himself involved in the efforts up front and even chucked in an ambitious hack-kick along the way. Nice way for him to start what should be a big year for him. 7
1 Eroni Mawi: Fine without setting the pitch alight. Couldn’t get over Joe Heyes in the scrum, but made himself busy in the loose with some nice carries. 6
Replacements: Some massive performances from the bench, even with some major disruption along the way. Ben Earl was arguably a standout player for Saracens across his shift, be it at 12 or eight, and became a real point of difference as the game went on. Alec Clarey, Olamide Sodeke and Nathan Michelow also made some big dents too. They could have paid the price for going 6-2, but the efforts of the replacements made sure it didn’t hamper them. 7
READ MORE: Leicester Tigers v Saracens: Result, scorers, match stats, line-ups