Leicester Tigers powered to a commanding 41-17 victory over Northampton Saints in a fiery East Midlands derby, boosting their Gallagher Premiership title ambitions. Hooker Jamie Blamire crossed for two tries, while George Martin, Ollie Hassell-Collins, Adam Radwan, and Freddie Steward also touched down for the hosts.
Leicester
41
Tries:
Martin (8), Hassell-Collins (26), Blamire (32, 50), Radwan (47), Steward (69)
Conversions:
O’Connor (27, 33, 48), Bailey (70)
Penalties:
O’Connor (45)
Northampton
17
Tries:
Freeman (21, 79), Hendy (71)
Conversions:
Smith (72)
The Tigers delivered a dominant performance, running in six tries and controlling proceedings throughout. The result trimmed Northampton’s lead at the top of the table to just five points, handing the Saints only their second league defeat of the season.
Northampton arrived at Mattioli Woods Welford Road aiming for a bonus-point win to secure their play-off spot but suffered their first loss of 2026. The fixture saw a record number of cards for this rivalry—five yellow cards—and Leicester’s Izaia Perese received a late red card.
Leicester dominated the first half, building a 19-5 lead. Veteran Australian fly-half James O’Connor, replacing the injured Billy Searle, orchestrated the attack with precision. England lock George Martin opened the scoring, strolling over unchallenged after the ball moved wide. Northampton’s Callum Chick was sin-binned for offside during the buildup.
The Saints responded with a stunning try, moving the ball swiftly from inside their own half. Fraser Dingwall offloaded to Tommy Freeman, who touched down to draw level with Ben Cohen as Northampton’s record Premiership try-scorer on 51 tries.
Leicester struck back as Martin drove forward before the backs sent Ollie Hassell-Collins over in the left corner. O’Connor converted, then repeated the feat minutes later when Blamire powered over from close range for the hosts’ third try.
O’Connor slotted a penalty early in the second half before Leicester took full control. Jack van Poortvliet’s sublime volley set the stage for further tries as the Tigers ran away with the derby.
In other action, Saracens beat Bristol 41-26 to strengthen their play-off hopes.
