Ford is the maestro again in Tigers romp

Northampton ..26pts

Tries: Skosan 40, 76; Mitchell 47, Waller 56

Conversions: Grayson 47, 56, 76

Leicester ……….55pts

Tries: Nadolo 11, 21; Van Wyk 19, Montoya 35, Van Poortvliet 67, 80; Murimurivalu 72

Conversions: Ford 19, 35, 67, 80

Penalties: Ford 1, 61, 63

Drop-goals: Ford 54

LEICESTER survived a second-half scare to post a record win in the Premiership over their East Midland rivals.

Tigers had Richard Wigglesworth and Jasper Wiese sin-binned straight after the interval to give Northampton brief hope they could overcome a 27-0 deficit.

Tries from Alex Mitchell and Alex Waller raised those hopes for a short spell but, ultimately, Tigers, who remain unbeaten leaders of the Premiership, had the greater control to win by seven tries to four.

At the height of the battle, Tigers owed their control to the power of Wiese and the nous of George Ford, whose omission from the England squad, judged on this kind of form, remains startling.

Ford even filled in at scrum-half when Tigers were down to 13 men and justly gained the man-ofmatch award for his afternoon which brought 20 points.

His most assured moment came midway into the second half when he calmly dropped a goal after fielding Northampton's drop out from under the posts.

That just about finished the home team who did keep playing to grab a try bonus point through a second try from wing Courtnall Skosan.

His score just before halftime triggered the Saints rally after Leicester had enjoyed a dream first half to lead 27-0.

It was 35 minutes of heated rugby that still left the full house of 15,000 engrossed despite the lack of England internationals.

At times it was one-way stuff in which Wiese kept making the hard yards up front backed by Ford's direction.

Leicester led from the first minute through a penalty by Ford who preceded to have an excellent patch including a ‘50-22' kick which pushed Tigers back down the field.

Tigers sped clear by scoring three tries in 12 minutes. Nemani Nadolo proved an unstoppable force out wide, finishing off twice in between the mobile Francois van Wyk rounding off after another burst from Wiese.

Those scores put Leicester 20-0 clear and a fourth try in the 35th minute this time from Julian Montoya, following a series of lineout drives, left Saints 27-0 down, Ford converting for the second time.

That score prompted an early walk to the bar for some Saints supporters but the majority stayed in their seats to see Skosan scoot over in the corner.

Pouncing: Jack van Poortvliet scores the first of his try double for Leicester

PICTURES: Getty Images

Saints continued their revival after half-time helped by Wigglesworth and Wiese gaining yellow cards for illegal tackles.

Mitchell, who minutes later blew an opportunity through a poor pass, scored Northampton's second try which was converted by James Grayson who had replaced Dan Biggar at the interval.

However, every time Northampton looked set to put the pressure back on Leicester, a mistake allowed the Tigers to increase their lead.

Ford's drop-goal in the 55th minute put Tigers 30-12 ahead before Waller joyously grabbed Northampton's third try which Grayson improved.

However, Saints continued to make mistakes, allowing Ford to kick two penalty goals in the 60th and 63rd minutes.

Those kicks put the match beyond doubt and it sparked some loose play which brought a burst of tries. Jack van Poortvliet pounced for two of them while another substitute, wing Kini Murimurivalu, got one in between them.

The only high point for Saints was a bonus point when Skosan scored a second to bring some solace to the home support.

Crowd pleaser: Courtnall Skosan goes over for Northampton