Play-off bid all but over as Saints are held pointless in sobering defeat to Tigers

Phil Dowson's men went into the East Midlands derby sitting eighth in the league standings, nine points adrift of fourth-placed Tigers with seven regular-season matches to play.

But there was only one team in the race during the first period as Tigers rocked up and bossed proceedings, notching three tries before the break.

Champions Saints, who looked sluggish having not played since March 1, had a mountain to climb at 23-0 down going into the second period.

And it was eventually death by a thousand cuts after half-time as two efforts were ruled out for incidents in the build-up, while Manny Iyogun and Henry Pollock were also inches from scoring.

Tigers rubbed salt in the wounds with a late bonus-point try, while Saints were held pointless as a sell-out crowd had little to shout about on a deflating night at the Gardens.

Dowson's men had gone into the game, their first Premiership encounter since the defeat at Harlequins on January 24, hoping to ignite their title charge.

But after missing a huge chance to open the scoring inside the opening couple of minutes as a pass bounced off Trevor Davison and went forward close to the line, Saints shipped three tries in just eight excruciating minutes.

Tigers opened the scoring as Adam Radwan cruised over on the right wing in the fifth minute.

Handré Pollard missed the conversion but Tigers were dominant in the collisions, continually putting Saints under pressure and forcing mistakes from the home side.

And after winning a scrum penalty inside their own half, Tigers used the advantage to devastating effect.

Jack van Poortvliet made the break from inside his own half and then chipped ahead before gathering to dive over the line.

Pollard converted and Saints were all at sea, being made to suffer by their familiar foes, who were far sharper in the opening exchanges.

Tigers were continually rubbing salt in the wounds, bundling Tom Seabrook into touch close to his own line before using the lineout to go over again, with Olly Cracknell breaking away from the back of a maul to score.

The only saving grace was an unexpected missed conversion from Pollard, but groans were being heard at the Gardens as Tigers were in total control after just 13 minutes.

Leicester were showing no signs of slowing down as they kept coming, booting a penalty to the corner as they sought a bonus-point try before the clock hit 20.

Saints did manage to repel a couple of surges into their 22, and they mounted one of their own at the other end, piecing together a flowing attack, but Tigers got over the ball to win possession back.

When Rory Hutchinson was penalised for hands in the ruck, Pollard landed a well-struck penalty to put his team 20 points up before the clock had even hit the half-hour mark.

Pollard soon added another three points after Juarno Augustus knocked on and Curtis Langdon was penalised for being offside as he collected the ball.

Tigers were doing everything better, with the pillars of their game functioning to impressive effect, while Saints were searching for any sort of solutions.

After their early forays, the black, green and gold had barely got close to venturing into the away 22 for the remainder of the half, heading in at the break with so much to do.

Burger Odendaal was sent on at the interval, coming on for his first Premiership appearance since last season's final.

But it was Tigers who continued to play on the front foot as the impressive Freddie Steward made inroads with a scything run before Pollard booted the ball dead.

Saints tried to respond at the other end but they were met by more defiant defence from a Tigers team who were refusing to take a backward step.

Van Poortvliet was soon racing away again, leading a break, but Fin Smith did superbly to get over the ball and win a penalty just inside his own half.

Saints thought they'd scored soon after as Augustus powered over the line, but the play was brought back for an earlier penalty to Tigers.

Leicester pushed forward and after Langdon was penalised for tackling the nine, Pollard slotted the kick to make it 26-0.

Saints needed any sort of spark to ignite the Gardens, and Pollock, just on for Augustus, provided it with an electric run that was eventually stopped just short of the line.

Another near miss soon followed as Iyogun just couldn't quite get the ball down as he landed on his back next to the line.

Saints celebrated what they thought was their first try soon after, but it was ruled out as George Hendy was deemed to have knocked on before sending Pollock over the line.

The game really started to peter out as the chances of Saints getting anything from it faded into the night sky.

Tigers still had a try bonus point to chase, and they almost got it as Ollie Hassell-Collins flew after a loose ball, only to knock on as he tried to collect it close to the home line.

But Saints then handed Leicester one final gift as Pollock took a quick tap penalty and sent a pass towards Odendaal, but the ball came loose and Charlie Clare dived over to stick another dagger into his former club.

Pollard converted and cries of ‘Tigers’ rang out as the agony was well and truly amplified for Saints at the Gardens.

Saints: 15. George Hendy; 14. James Ramm, 13. Fraser Dingwall (c), 12. Rory Hutchinson (Burger Odendaal 40), 11. Tom Seabrook; 10. Fin Smith, 9. Tom James (Jonny Weimann 77); 1. Manny Iyogun (Tarek Haffar 61), 2. Curtis Langdon (Henry Walker 68), 3. Trevor Davison (Luke Green 58); 4. Temo Mayanavanua (Chunya Munga 61), 5. Tom Lockett (Alex Coles 48); 6. Josh Kemeny, 7. Tom Pearson, 8. Juarno Augustus (Henry Pollock 48).

Leicester Tigers: 15. Freddie Steward; 14. Adam Radwan, 13. Solomone Kata (Izaia Perese 65), 12. Joseph Woodward (Ben Volavola 74), 11. Ollie Hassell-Collins; 10. Handré Pollard, 9. Jack van Poortvliet (Ben Youngs 67); 1. Nicky Smith (James Whitcombe 69), 2. Julián Montoya (c) (Charlie Clare 69), 3. Joe Heyes (Dan Cole 58); 4. Cameron Henderson, 5. Harry Wells (Côme Joussain 69); 6. Hanro Liebenberg, 7. Tommy Reffell (Emeka Ilione 54), 8. Olly Cracknell.

Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe