Second half to forget as Saints are beaten by Tigers in torrid conditions

Phil Dowson's men had gone in 7-3 up at half-time after a strong first-half showing, during which James Pater pounced on a Billy Searle mistake to score.

But with conditions getting worse and worse throughout the match, Tigers tightened up their set piece and got their rewards.

Their lineout, which faltered badly during the first half, became more secure and their scrum became a big weapon as Saints found themselves submerged at times after the break.

Tigers made the pressure pay as they scored four tries to take the game away from their East Midlands rivals during a punishing second period.

It was the kind of game that was feared from a Saints perspective as the Gallagher PREM champions were unable to use any of their attacking ability on a day when the ball resembled a bar of soap.

Tigers also got bogged down before the break as they continually lost possession in promising situations, but they put that right after half-time to ensure they would secure the victory and the bragging rights.

With the rain and wind relentless from kick-off, Saints had initially made good inroads, playing on the front foot and winning a series of penalties from their hosts.

With advantage being played inside the Tigers 22, Fin Smith tried a chip over the top and Searle got in a tangle, failing to gather and allowing the onrushing Pater to pick up well and score.

Smith converted but Tigers then penned Saints in from the kick-off, earning a penalty of their own to allow them to crank up the heat five metres from the away line.

Josh Kemeny stole the lineout but Tigers kept coming and after taking a tap penalty, they fancied their chances of forcing their way over.

A knock-on ended that attack and conditions continued to wreak havoc with the handling as Tigers tried to keep their foot on the accelerator in the away half.

Eventually, Tigers opted to try to put some points on the board via the kicking tee, going for goal from just inside the Saints half, with Freddie Steward sending a huge kick between the posts to draw a huge roar from the home fans.

Saints produced a strong response, knocking loudly on the home door time and again, but Tigers delivered a huge goal-line stand and eventually managed to relieve the pressure with a penalty.

The hosts were desperate to take the lead before the break, but Saints managed to hold firm before a little derby-day scuffle took place close to the terrace after the half-time whistle blew.

Tigers were fired up at the start of the second period and they quickly took the lead as they sorted out their lineout woes, sending Jamie Blamire over on the back of a dominant drive after Saints had conceded a couple of costly penalties.

Searle missed the conversion but Tigers were now penning Saints in, winning a scrum penalty to set up another surge.

Finally some movement was put on the ball, with Tigers firing it to the left, where lock Cameron Henderson was waiting to turn on the power and score.

Searle missed the conversion but there was no escape for the black, green and gold as Tigers were doing the basics far better in treacherous conditions.

The home side scored again when they kept the heat on from close range and Finn Carnduff got the job done.

Searle missed the conversion again before Saints finally managed to put some phases together in the Tigers half.

But there was no way through the Leicester wall and the home side won a scrum penalty to relieve the pressure.

Saints just could not get anything going as Tigers turned the screw, adding to their tally with a successful Searle penalty.

The referee's arm continued to be raised in the wrong direction from a Saints perspective but it looked like they may have finally got a break when Adam Radwan was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on after George Hendy charged from inside his own 22.

However, replays arrived on the big screen and the home fans turned up the noise as Craig Maxwell-Keys headed over to the screen, eventually showing Tom Lockett a yellow card for a high tackle on Solomone Kata, bringing Radwan back onto the field immediately.

Tigers kicked the penalty to the corner and after Saints stopped the maul, the home side moved the ball for Steward to score under the posts.

Searle converted and it had turned into a nightmare second half for Saints, who tried to muster one final attack but were held up to complete a frustrating 80 minutes.

Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward (George Pearson 79); 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Will Wand (Orlando Bailey 73), 12 Solomone Kata, 11 Gabriel Hamer-Webb; 10 Billy Searle, 9 Jack van Poortvliet (Tom Whiteley 74); 1 Archie van der Flier (Tarek Haffar 74), 2 Jamie Blamire (Richie Asiata 79), 3 Joe Heyes (Will Hurd 73); 4 Cameron Henderson (James Thompson 79), 5 Ollie Chessum (c); 6 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Finn Carnduff, 8 Olly Cracknell (Joaquin Moro 73).

Saints: 15 James Pater; 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Fraser Dingwall (c), 11 George Hendy; 10 Fin Smith (Ollie Sleightholme 72), 9 Alex Mitchell (Archie McParland 57); 1 Emmanuel Iyogun (Danilo Fischetti 63), 2 Curtis Langdon (Robbie Smith 63), 3 Cleopas Kundiona (Ion Neculai 54); 4 Alex Coles, 5 Ed Prowse (JJ van der Mescht 63); 6 Josh Kemeny, 7 Tom Pearson (Tom Lockett 57), 8 Henry Pollock (Callum Chick 54).

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys