Radwan double helps Leicester triumph over Saracens

The Prem.

Leicester (26) 36

Heyes Cons: Searle 4 Pens: Searle 4 Tries: Steward, Cracknell, Radwan 2, Radwan 2,

Saracens (7) 28

Adam Radwan scored two tries as Tigers of Leicester edged closer to The Prem. play-off places with a dominant 36-28 win over a one-dimensional Saracens at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.

The hosts scored a second-half lead thanks to Theo McFarland, Freddie Steward and Olly Cracknell, before the fifth-placed Tigers quickly jumped out to within one.

Saracens had a second-half mountain to climb thanks to additional scores from Radwan and Joe Heyes, before Mark McCall’s men responded with Rhys Carre.

The Tigers started the game with a win, with both teams aiming to stay in touch with the top four.

Billy Searle delivered a perfectly weighted grubber kick for Steward to dot down following impressive carrying from Radwan and first-time starter Sam Williams.

Before referee Matthew Carley determined that the fly-half had been tackled just short of the line, the Tigers then had a chance to convert to a quick-fire double through Searle.

The visitors’ only had a temporary respite from it, though.

With the assistance of Ollie Chessum, Cracknell eventually broke through the Saracens wall after a string of close-range drives.

Saracens struggled for a foothold, but eventually answered through McFarland, who saw little of the ball and chose to kick it more frequently than not when they did.

The Tigers’ faithful erupted in a true test after a further period of kick tennis.

Searle accelerated through a gap and advanced from a scrum deep in their own half.

Before making a spectacular dive to score in the corner, Radwan gathered and outpaced the final Saracens defender.

Elliot Daly was sent off for a late hit on Searle in the build-up to the try, which made things even worse for the visitors.

The Tigers reclaimed the starting lineup after Nick Isiekwe and Jamie George were both sacked as a result of head-injury assessments.

Saracens needed a quality boost after the break through Carre, with Mark McCall’s words ringing in their ears.

Leicester were repeatedly beaten to death by close-range drives before the Welsh prop volleyed his way over to give the visitors hope.

Radwan, who had just read a pass from Ivan van Zyl and ran the ball in from his own half unaffected, quickly ended that.

After Theo Dan’s excellent work, Gonzalez noticed a gap and didt down for Saracens’ third try with the game over.

After Max Malins’ break, Bracken ran in following the break to ensure Saracens returned down the M1 with a point. They continued to attack until the final whistle.

Geoff Parling, the head coach of the Tigers of Leicester, told BBC Radio Leicestershire:

“I thought we really got the ball rolling in the first half, and we had the right amount of edge.”

We know we needed to be better, but I don’t think that the breakdown was the only thing that kept them in it for the first half.

“Despite a fantastic win and fantastic result, there are still areas we can improve. You can’t fault our effort, but I’m disappointed they got that [bonus] point at the end.

Adam Radwan, a Leicester try-scorer:

We had a fairly difficult review of that game because we didn’t really show up last week [versus the Exeter Chiefs]. We had a week where we challenged each other to be better, and today, not for the full 80, we did it because we had the same idea in mind.

Mark McCall, the director of rugby for the Saracens, said:

A losing bonus point may be significant at the end of the season, but it offers little consolation today.

“You can’t show up at a place like this and play with that attitude for the first 15 or 20 minutes because only one team engaged in physical combat.”

Replacements: Hamer-Webb, Hurd, Hurd, Ilione, Moro, Allan, Pearson, and Clare.

Searle receives a yellow card.

Saracens: Daly, Segun, Cinti, Tompkins, Malins, Burke, van Zyl (c), Carre, George, Riccioni, Isiekwe, Tizard, McFarland, Earl, Willis, and others.

Dan, Mawi, Street, Itoje, Gonzalez, Christie, C. Bracken, and Lozowski are the replacements.

Daly, the yellow card.