After their 29-22 Premiership loss to Saracens at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, here’s how the Leicester Tigers team performed on Sunday.
Leicester Tigers ratings v Saracens
15 Freddie Steward: The England full-back made some solid runs from the back and was rewarded with a well-taken try in the opening half. Continued to ask questions of the defence as the match progressed and was solid under the high ball. 7
14 Adam Radwan: The Leicester Tigers’ excitement machine looked dangerous whenever he touched the ball, but Saracens’ defence did well to keep him in check.6
13 Solomone Kata: Was lively on attack as he tested the Saracens’ defence with solid runs but made little headway in that department and was eventually replaced by Izaia Perese in the 54th minute. 6
12 Joseph Woodward: The young inside centre showed some nice touches on attack and caught the eye with a deft offload to Steward, who crossed for his try. Woodward also shone on defence. 7
11 Ollie Hassell-Collins: The England flyer was in the thick of the action from the outset and tested the visitors’ defence with some barnstorming runs and was unlucky not to cross the whitewash. 7
10 Handré Pollard: The Springboks playmaker delivered a classy all-round performance as he impressed with his distribution skills, which created some attacking opportunities for his team-mates and was solid in defence. Was off-target with one conversion attempt, but succeeded with the other two and showed his class with a well-taken drop goal in the first half. 8
9 Jack van Poortvliet: The Red Rose international provided a slick service to his outside backs and combined well with Pollard before being replaced by Ben Youngs in the game’s closing stages. 7
The forwards
8 Olly Cracknell: The 30-year-old delivered a solid all-round shift as he was a willing ball carrier and put in some big hits on defence. 7
7 Tommy Reffell: The Wales tearaway was his usual buy self at the breakdowns and did his bit on defence but only lasted 56 minutes before being replaced by Emeka Ilione.6
6 Hanro Liebenberg: Came to the fore with a superb attacking performance as he emptied the tank as a ball carrier and was rewarded with a brace of tries. Aslo shone one defence and in the lineouts. 8
5 Harry Wells: Came into the run-on side as a late replacement for Ollie Chessum and delivered a workmanlike performance during a 70-minute stint before being replaced by Côme Joussain in the 70th minute. 5
4 Cameron Henderson: He did brilliantly to charge down a kick from Ivan van Zyl before regathering and crossing the whitewash. His effort was ruled out, however, as television replays revealed that he was offside in the build-up. Also did well in the lineouts and on defence. 7
3 Joe Heyes: The 25-year-old had a tough time in the scrums and put his body on the line on defence before being replaced by Dan Cole after 57 minutes. 4
2 Julián Montoya: The Tigers skipper put plenty of pressure on his opponents at the breakdowns, but his lineout throw-ins was not always on target. On one of those occasions, he missed his jumper and Theo Dan gathered at the back of the set-piece before crossing for what proved to be the match-winning try. Replaced by Charlie Clare in the 72nd minute. 6
1 Nicky Smith: The Wales international emptied the tank at the coalface of Leicester’s forward effort as he was solid in the scrums where he put Marco Riccioni under plenty of pressure but wasn’t rewarded. 8
Replacements: The Tigers bench did not make the necessary impact, especially during the latter stages when they were chasing the game. The introduction of Emeka Ilione and Izaia Perese brought some energy, but the latter only lasted 15 minutes before being forced off through injury, with Jamie Shillcock replacing him. 6
👀 READ MORE: 👉 Saracens player ratings: ‘Colossal’ Maro Itoje and teenager shine but England hooker’s ‘lineout woes’ almost cost visitors
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/leicester-tigers-player-ratings-handre-pollards-classy-outing-falls-short-in-defeat-to-saracens
