Freddie Steward crosses for Leicester’s sixth try, shaking off Henry Pollock’s challenge.
Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images
Leicester 41-17 Northampton
Freddie Steward’s try caps a six-try onslaught for the hosts.
You can play all the stylish rugby you like, and you can sit atop the table with games in hand, but some fundamental truths never change. One of them: if you are overpowered in the forwards in a sold-out East Midlands derby on the road, you will be blown away.
Northampton could have locked up a playoff spot with a bonus-point victory here, but—to put it mildly—they failed to do so. In an electric atmosphere, records fell as Leicester secured that bonus-point win to climb to third, just one point behind Bath (who face Exeter on Sunday) and five adrift of the Saints. Leicester posted their highest ever points total in this fixture, while the match saw more cards than ever before. Perhaps not more aggression than usual, but there was plenty of that too.
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At the death, Izaia Perese was shown a 20-minute red card for a high tackle on George Furbank, but that was the least of the card dramas. Two yellows came after the second mass brawl following Leicester’s fifth try, another yellow for a swinging arm (Charlie Clare’s) with 12 minutes left, and two more for technical infringements.
Leicester lost fly-half Billy Searle for the rest of the season during the week, but they were boosted by the return of George Martin in the pack. From early on, the contest looked like a battle between Leicester’s forwards and Northampton’s backs. If the roles had been reversed, the scoreline could have been far uglier.
In the end, a burst of 22 Leicester points in the 10 minutes around halftime sealed the contest. Northampton still control their own destiny—no doubt they will secure a playoff spot—but time will tell how much of a psychological blow this first defeat of 2026 proves.
Saracens survived two late yellow cards to keep their playoff hopes alive with a 41-26 win at Bristol. Their bonus-point triumph trimmed the gap to Exeter and Bristol, who both remain just ahead of the London club.
Bristol were their own worst enemies in the first half, conceding 34 points through poor tackling, and the deficit proved insurmountable.
Saracens’ tries came from Tom Willis, Hugh Tizard, Rotimi Segun, Ben Earl, Tobias Elliott, and Fergus Burke, who also added a penalty and three conversions. Owen Farrell kicked a conversion.
Fitz Harding, Harry Thacker, Matías Moroni, and Kalaveti Ravouvou scored for Bristol, with Tom Jordan converting three.
Inside the first three minutes, Bristol took the lead when captain Harding dived over after two strong bursts from Benhard Janse van Rensburg put the defense under pressure. Jordan converted from in front of the posts before Saracens responded with a simple penalty from Burke, then Willis powered over from close range.
Two minutes later, Saracens stunned their hosts with another try. A well-timed pass from Maro Itoje sent Tizard through a huge gap, and after a few phases, the ball was recycled for Tizard to finish.
The fourth try of the half arrived when Bristol turned down a kickable penalty in favor of attacking options, and it paid off when Thacker burst away from a driving maul to score.
That score was almost immediately cancelled out when Burke strolled through a sleeping defense to set up Segun’s easy run-in.
