Northampton snatch one-point victory over Leicester to win 19-18; Saracens rally to edge Bristol 20-19 with dramatic last-gasp try; Exeter leapfrog Gloucester to enter Premiership top four after hard-fought 24-17 victory at Sandy Park
Last Updated: 28/01/23 7:03pm
Ollie Sleightholme runs in the crucial try for Northampton
Northampton beat Leicester by a single point as they took a 19-18 victory at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Saturday.
Ollie Sleightholme’s superbly-taken try was crucial for Northampton in this East Midlands derby.Northampton twice battled back from behind after Harry Potter scored two tries for the Tigers. Guy Porter tackles Northampton Saints’ James Ramm The visitors’ afternoon did not start well as they had full-back James Ramm sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle on Potter close to his own try-line after only three minutes.There was relentless pressure from the Tigers in the opening stages of the game and it was no surprise when their first try came in the eighth minute as Potter slipped through Rory Hutchinson’s attempted tackle to score down the left.Handre Pollard added the conversion, but Saints got off the mark just before Ramm returned to the field through George Furbank’s penalty.Pollard then extended the hosts’ lead to 10-3 with a penalty of his own after Alex Coles was pinged for holding on under pressure from Julian Montoya.Northampton then produced a spell of sustained pressure and a pair of Leicester infringements in their own 22 allowed Furbank’s boot to narrow the gap to just one point.A vital tackle from Saints No 8 Juarno Augustus prevented Montoya crashing over to score from a driving maul.T …