Two-time World Cup winner Handrè Pollard was the key man as Leicester Tigers defeated fellow Investec Champions Cup side Northampton Saints in a thrilling East Midlands Derby.
Leicester won the Gallagher English Premiership match 26-17 to delight their home fans, with fly-half Pollard kicking 16 points.
In a try-less first half, it was Pollard who was already setting the pace as he kicked three penalties to send Leicester in 9-3 to the good at halftime.
Even away from the tee, Pollard’s kicking allowed Leicester to keep the pressure on throughout the game as he took the opportunities he was given to kick deep into Nottingham territory.
Pollard has kicked 70 points in all EPCR competitions and has been a key player in both the last two World Cup-winning South Africa squads.
Remarkably, he wasn’t included in the original 33-man squad for the 2023 tournament, but he was drafted in as an injury replacement and became the go-to man from the tee, kicking the winning points in the quarter-final against France, the semi-final against England and all of South Africa’s 12 points in the Final win.
That precision and composure he showed in France was on display again at the Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
The start of the second half made it seem as if the stop-start nature of the opening 40 would repeat itself, with Pollard once more punishing Northampton’s lack of discipline to kick his fourth and final penalty.
But suddenly the match erupted. Prop Francois van Wyk bundled over to give Leicester a 15-3 lead, which duly became 19-3 as Pollard cooly kicked the extras.
Northampton struck back with a try of their own, but flanker Hanro Liebenberg sealed the result for Leicester with a converted score which made a late Northampton try merely a consolation.
With a first home win of the season, Pollard and Leicester will look to build momentum ahead of their Investec Champions Cup opener next month against DHL Stormers on December 10.
In other Premiership action, three-time winners of EPCR’s leading competition Saracens smashed Harlequins 38-10 away from home, while over in the United Rugby Championship, there were wins for Glasgow Warriors and Irish-trio Leinster Rugby, Munster Rugby and Connacht Rugby.