2 days ago
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Saracens produced their most important victory of the season at the most important time to reduce the gap to the playoffs to just two points with a dramatic victory against Leicester.
Without a Premiership win since early January and with their season close to being on the line here, Theo Dan’s late try could prove to be vital not just for Mark McCall and his side but the entire division.
There could have been a gap as big as 11 points between these two sides here, but in the end it is just two. Furthermore, five teams – Leicester, Gloucester, Sale, Saracens and Harlequins – are split by just four points with five rounds remaining after this result.
McCall opted to keep the England quartet Maro Itoje, Jamie George, Tom Willis and Elliot Daly in his lineup. Two of them, George and Itoje, would combine superbly for the opening try as the visitors began sensationally.
A seven-point lead then quickly became 14. Leicester had enjoyed plenty of early territory in the Saracens 22 but came away dry every time. In contrast the visitors were much more clinical in the opening quarter, doubling their lead when a fine piece of play led to Juan Martín González hitting a wonderful line to extend the advantage.
Leicester’s weight of pressure, however, eventually told as a run of 17 unanswered points turned the contest on its head. Freddie Steward opened the Tigers’ account before a drop goal from Handrè Pollard narrowed the deficit to four.
Leicester then moved ahead on the stroke of half-time. Saracens looked certain to go in ahead but Hanro Liebenberg crashed over and then, two minutes after the restart, he made it two tries in a matter of minutes after Sarries cheaply surrendered possession.
That made it 22-17 and at that stage it seemed the visitors’ season was in danger of fizzling away. But they responded in the final half-hour magnificently, with the debutant Angus Hall’s sensational one-handed finish levelling the scores.
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With it now 22-22 and finely poised, any mistake was crucial. And when Leicester made a horrendous mess of a lineout close to their own line, Dan seized the loose ball to dive over and put Saracens back ahead.
There were nervy moments late on, not least when Cameron Henderson thought he had charged down an Ivan van Zyl kick to score, but he was adjudged to have been offside and in the end Saracens held on to not only reignite their season but the entire Premiership playoff race.
