Leicester continue marvellous win streak with comfortable rain-drenched victory over Newcastle

Leicester Tigers 31 Newcastle Falcons 0

Not even the black cloud of a salary-cap investigation nor the actual rainstorm that threatened to submerge Welford Road in the first half could derail the Leicester machine which has now racked up its 15th straight win this season.

And this was a machine-like performance from league leaders with very few individual flourishes but a remorseless intensity, guided by half-backs George Ford and Ben Youngs. Still, a fourth try proved elusive until the clock turned red and replacement fly-half Freddie Burns spotted Harry Potter in an acre of space on the wing. Burns’ chip was perfectly weighted for Potter to step past the toiling Mike Brown and touch down in the corner.

It was all the more impressive given the off-field distractions they have had to deal with this week. As well as Premiership Rugby’s salary-cap manager Andrew Rogers’ inquiries into potential historic breaches, Leicester have been dealing with a Covid-19 outbreak which resulted in head coach Steve Borthwick naming four forwards, including two hookers on the bench.

Borthwick denied that the investigation had affected his preparation for the match. “There are things that keep me awake at night but it’s not that.” Borthwick said. “Ultimately, this was a champion team – the best team around. By the time I came here 18 months ago, it was the worst in the league. There was a period when the team and the club had been mis-managed, producing these performances which were below the standard Leicester Tigers should be at. My job was to lift the team from the bottom of the pile back up. That’s what I continue to try to do each day.”

Leicester are now back on top. They have reached the 50-point mark (more, incidentally, than they managed in either of the 2018-19 or 2019-20 seasons) and they find themselves with an 18-point buffer over fifth-placed Exeter. As a player and then a coach, Dean Richards, the Newcastle director of rugby, was part of some great teams here who prized winning above all else. It is a quality he recognises in Borthwick’s team, too, even if that leaves a little bit to be desired in terms of creative expression in what he calls the “Eddie Jones style of rugby”.

“Leicester are on a roll aren’t they?” Richards said. “They play very much the Saracens/Eddie Jones style of rugby which is kick everything and have a really good kick-chase. It’s effective and it’s what the Leicester crowd will love. Puts pressure on other people.

“So from that side of things it’s getting back to the old days - stick it up your jumper and score tries. There’s no quarter given by them. They’re a good, well drilled side. They look really good when they’ve got the 9 and 10 they had out today.”

Asked to confirm whether the Eddie Jones style of rugby was a compliment, Richards added: “Well, of course. Or is it the Brendan Venter style? It’s incredibly successful at club level.”

Outside of their half-backs, Harry Wells was their most impressive performer. Packing down at blindside flanker, Wells got through a tonne of work, especially in the trenches, and finished as their top ball-carrier and tackler. Ford got them on the board with a third-minute penalty and proceeded to unleash a host of spiral bombs on Brown which seemed a form of torture in the teeming rain.

After gradually turning the screw, Leicester got over the line through their dominant maul with centre Dan Kelly pilfering hooker Julian Montoya’s try-scoring bonus. It was not just Brown who was struggling with Ford’s kicking game and fly-half Joel Hodgson misjudged a chip ahead which allowed Matt Scott to scoop up and touch down.

Martin scored the third after 54 minutes following what felt like 300 phases inside the Newcastle 22, which included the rare sighting of a Dan Cole offload. Newcastle did not really come alive until the final ten minutes when they finally encroached into the Leicester 22 but they were kept out by some ferocious defence. “I think the fight the players have got is enormous,” Borthwick said. “That’s a great attribute and characteristic.”

Match details

Leicester: Steward, Potter, Scott, Kelly, Porter, Ford, B. Youngs, Genge, Montoya, Cole, Snyman, Green, Wells, Reffell, Martin.
Replacements: Clare, Leatigaga, Heyes, Murimurivalu, Dolly, van Poortvliet, Burns, Moroni.

Newcastle: Brown, Carreras, Orlando, Burrell, Radwan, Hodgson, Schreuder, Cooper, Maddison, Davison, Peterson, Robinson, Van Der Walt, Welch, Fearns.
Replacements: Smith, Mulipola, Tampin, Chick, Graham, Stuart, B. Connon, Penny.

Referee: Karl Dickson