Tigers end Sarries’ run and give Lancaster a headache
SARACENS (19) vs LEICESTER TIGERS (20)
LEICESTER boss Richard Cockerill admits England coach Stuart Lancaster faces a selection headache after Toby Flood and Manu Tuilagi starred in yesterday’s last-gasp win at the Premiership champions.
Captain Geordan Murphy’s 80th-minute drop-goal condemned Saracens to a first home defeat in the competition for 16 months, just seconds after Alex Goode’s fourth successful penalty appeared to have handed them victory. Fly-half Flood and centre Tuilagi, who are targeting England recalls when Wales visit Twickenham in a crunch Six Nations fixture on Saturday, provided further evidence they are over recent injuries.
Flood kicked four penalties and Tuilagi mustered an all-action display to leave Cockerill grateful he does not have interim head coach Lancaster’s task of assimilating them into a winning team.
“England have done well with the guys they have, so how they may or may not fit in those two is, happily, not my problem,” said Cockerill. “Manu had a long lay-off with injury but he’s now played two 80 minutes and was still charging for the line at the end, while Floody had a torrid time in last week’s disappointing defeat at Exeter and showed his quality with those penalties.”
Flood’s accuracy kept Tigers in front at half-time despite Neil de Kock’s excellent try. Ed Slater crossed for the visitors but Goode’s penalty seemed to have preserved Saracens’ unbeaten record until Murphy struck.
Victory for Leicester was revenge for last season’s Premiership final defeat, and lifted them two place to fourth in the table. Saracens remain second, six points adrift of pace-setters Harlequins.