Prem rugby: Leicester beat Northampton 28–7 to go second
Four unanswered second-half tries overturned a 7–3 halftime deficit against the defending champions and lifted Leicester into second place.
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Four unanswered second-half tries overturned a 7–3 halftime deficit against the defending champions and lifted Leicester into second place.
Leicester Tigers beat defending champions Northampton Saints 28–7 at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on 24 October 2026, moving into second place in the Gallagher PREM rugby competition. Freddie Steward’s try, Leicester’s fourth, secured a bonus point to complete Leicester’s second-half comeback.
Northampton led 7–3 at halftime in wet and windy conditions, before Leicester scored four unanswered tries. A try scores points by grounding the ball beyond the opponents’ goal line. Both coaches identified Leicester’s control of the scrum—a restart in which opposing groups of forwards bind together and push for the ball—as central to the turnaround, RugbyPass reported.
The victory was Leicester’s third in four league games. It also extended their run of home wins over East Midlands rivals Northampton to four successive seasons.
James Pater opened the scoring after seven minutes, pouncing after Billy Searle fumbled Fin Smith’s kick towards Leicester’s try line. Smith added the conversion, the follow-up kick for additional points. Steward’s penalty from just inside Northampton’s half after 19 minutes supplied Leicester’s only first-half points.
A scuffle broke out along the touchline as the players headed towards the tunnel at halftime.
Four minutes after the restart, Jamie Blamire grounded the ball from a driving maul, a collective forward drive. Searle missed the conversion, leaving Leicester one point ahead. Cameron Henderson then scored in the left corner from Gabriel Hamer-Webb’s pass.
Finn Carnduff added Leicester’s third try from close range in the 57th minute after Northampton illegally collapsed a maul. Searle missed the conversions of all three tries, but extended the lead with a penalty from in front of the posts.
English clubs seeking entry must apply rather than progress through a promotion play-off, as organisers provisionally target a 12-team rugby union top flight in 2029–30.
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Northampton’s Tom Lockett received a yellow card, temporarily removing him from play, for head-on-head contact with Solomone Kata with 10 minutes remaining. Soon afterwards, Searle’s long pass found Steward, who scored under the posts to secure the extra league point awarded for Leicester’s fourth try.
Leicester head coach Geoff Parling said his players had solved early problems at set pieces, the game’s organised restarts. He felt Leicester had initially been slow to adapt to the officiating before asserting their power.
Parling described a calm halftime dressing room with few tactical messages. Leicester’s coaches believed greater accuracy, rather than extensive changes, would give the team an advantage.
Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson attributed the defeat to set-piece problems and poor discipline. He said Leicester’s dominance created opportunities inside Northampton’s 22-metre defensive area, and his team did not respond strongly enough. Northampton had reacted better to setbacks in the first half, he added.
Parling said Leicester would review the performance as critically as a defeat, with aspects of their game still to improve.
The England centre will miss all four November internationals. Lam targets December 4 at Bath for his return, subject to medical clearance.
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Marcus Smith scored and stopped a try as Harlequins earned a bonus point, though their first league victory leaves them bottom of the table.
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