Chessum leads hunt as Tigers turn nasty

■By ADAM HATHAWAY

Leicester Tigers ………… 28pts

Tries: Blamire 43, Henderson 51, Carnduff 56, Steward 71

Conversions: Searle 71

Penalties: Steward 19, Searle 66

Northampton Saints ……..7pts

Tries: Pater 6

Conversions: F Smith 7

OLLIE Chessum’s Leicester turned into different beasts after the break – scoring 25 unanswered points to take East Midlands bragging rights over the champions.

Henry Pollock and Alex Mitchell were at the centre of a flashpoint which involved most of the players from both sides pushing and shoving just before half-time.

The incident must have sparked something in Leicester because they played like the Tigers of old to blow their old enemies away in the second half.

Lock Chessum was clearly fired up by the fracas just before the break and charged around like a man possessed while prop Joe Heyes fixed a creaking Tigers scrum and turned it into a weapon.

Heyes was all over the park as well, showing his well-being ahead of the November Tests as Saints were put to the sword.

It was not a great day for the title holders who conceded 19 penalties as their discipline and scrum went haywire in the second period.

Target: Ollie Chessum bears down on Fin Smith

Three tries in 13 minutes after half-time put Saints away with hooker Jamie Blamire scoring on 43 minutes after being driven over by a pumped-up Tigers pack.

Then lock Cameron Henderson galloped home down the left after being put away by Solomone Kata after the centre had looped around the Northampton defence.

Flanker Finn Carnduff sealed it on 56 minutes and full-back Freddie Steward added the garnish and try bonus point when he walked in nine minutes from time.

Tigers wing Adam Rad-wan had a yellow card reversed in the second half – for a deliberate knock on – when Saints’ replacement Tom Lockett was carded for a head-on-head challenge on Kata moments earlier.

It summed up an abject day for Saints who looked to have the game under control at its mid-point before imploding spectacularly.

They led 7-3 at the break with the most memorable moment coming just after the half-time whistle when all hell broke loose. Pollock, who famously lost his head in this fixture last season, was in the middle of a fracas after helping to bundle Rad-wan into touch.

The back row celebrated, Mitchell wound up Tigers a bit more and Chessum and Steward went on the warpath. The pushing and shoving, with Tommy Freeman also involved, carried on towards the tunnel and Pollock – the ultimate wind-up merchant – inflamed the situation by bending down and pretending to tie up his boot lace as the teams went up the stairs to the dressing rooms.

It was enough to get the locals going after a first 40 minutes played in pouring rain which did not suit the attacking game of either side, but especially Northampton.

Pollock had ditched the corn row hair style before the game and was in the thick of things from the off but it was fly-half Fin Smith who provided the spark for the game’s first score.

Smith, showing deceptive strength, made a dent in the defence then, with penalty advantage, chipped over the Leicester ranks. Billy Searle failed to gather the ball and Saints full-back James Pater took advantage.

Steward banged over a 48m penalty on 18 minutes to cut the deficit before the Tigers defence earned its corn, repelling three Saints attacks to get to the break in touch.

Then the sparks started to fly on the pitch and in the tunnel – and Leicester were transformed after the break.

Elation: Leicester lock Finn Carnduff celebrates after the final whistle

PICTURES: Getty Images

CLOSE-UP V

JACK VAN POORTVLIET Leicester scrum-half

ALEX MITCHELL

Northampton scrum-half

Van Poortvliet is the man in possession of England‘s No.9 shirt after starting all three of the summer Test matches but he and Mitchell are the front runners for the starting berth in November as the only EPS contracted scrum-halves. Mitchell had the upper hand early with his range of kicking. Van Poortvliet grew into the game when he started taking on the Saints defence round the fringes. Mitchell was replaced just before the hour after a shocking 15 minutes for Northampton but it was just about honours even on the scrum-half front.