Top of the league and stadium rocking again... life’s still good!

THE forecast driving wind and rain materialised with a vengeance at Welford Road on Saturday, and because of that we didn’t get a classic for the purists, but for those of us brought up on rugby punctuated by mud and sweat and blood, it was a Saturday afternoon well spent!

After the game there was a lot of talk on social media that the Tigers “didn’t deserve” their victory, which is, of course, futile and pointless.

Frankly, once the result is in the papers, you have got exactly what you deserved. In much the same way, people talk about “good” and “bad” rugby, but there is no such thing, only winning and losing, and Leicester have suddenly rediscovered the art of winning.

For the first half the visitors were on top. This is hardly surprising, because in those conditions Saracens are better at being Saracens than anyone else!

Kicking the ball and applying pressure has been the cornerstone of their method for years and the conditions were made for that gameplan.

Meanwhile, Tigers would accept that their kicking wasn’t of the same standard and that they failed to handle the referee as well as the visitors.

However, Borthwick’s decision to send on the cavalry early in the second half changed the dynamic.

Freddie Steward was solidity itself at the back, Ellis Genge brought extra intensity, while Jack van Poortvliet provided an added threat and an all-round game that sparked Leicester’s comeback. The young scrum-half, in particular, turned things around for the Tigers.

Steve Borthwick has now achieved his first stated aim when he arrived.

Leicester are no longer a team that “goes away”.

Credit also to Aled Walters, who has transformed the fitness of the players to produce an 80 minutesplus team and, while referee Christophe Ridley hadn’t had his best game to that point, his strength in awarding the match-winning penalty try in the face of huge Saracens pressure (that continued long after the final whistle) was noteworthy.

After the try itself, the best part of the afternoon was watching the reaction of the players, both on the pitch and on the sidelines.

While it’s easy to be close-knit when you’re winning, the whole squad appears to be as one. Freddie Burns’ obvious unconfined joy alone was worth the admission price!

Tigers are now three from three, have beaten two of the favourites for this year’s top four and the Welford Road roar is coming back.

Life is still good.