Tigers run riot after interval as Steward seals bonus-point win over Northampton
Leicester Tigers beat Northampton Saints at Welford Road on 24 October 2026, scoring four unanswered tries in the second half and securing a bonus point, with Freddie Steward finishing the scoring.
A first half marked by a broadening fracas and sloppy handling left the hosts flat and allowed Northampton a single early try; Finn Smith’s chip behind the defence was collected by James Pater after Billy Searle spilled the ball. The crowd at Welford Road, the wet and windy conditions and a capacity atmosphere framed a contrasting second-half performance from Leicester, who had sent multiple penalties to the corner in the opening quarter without securing the resulting possession.
Leicester’s revival began within four minutes of the restart when Jamie Blamire finished a set-piece move to put the Tigers ahead by a single point. The momentum established by that try quickly became territory and possession dominance for the home side.
A penalty won after a ferocious scrum led to a lineout that Cameron Henderson took and then finished in the corner following a pass from Gabriel Hamer-Webb, pushing Leicester further clear. Five minutes later Finn Carnduff finished another attacking lineout, extending Leicester’s advantage and opening the door to the bonus point.
The bonus-point try arrived amid a chaotic sequence of play: Finn Smith’s cross-kick released George Hendy from his own 22, and Adam Radwan’s slap-down initially drew a yellow card. Earlier in the move Tom Lockett’s head had collided with Solomone Kata’s; the report described the yellow card as absurd punishment. Radwan’s was rescinded. Radwan came on, Lockett went off, and Freddie Steward strolled over from the subsequent lineout to secure the bonus point.
Match details and scorers were recorded as: Leicester Steward (Pearson 79); Radwan, Wand (Bailey 73), Kata, Hamer-Webb; Searle, Van Poortvliet (Whiteley 73); Van der Flier (Haffar 73), Blamire (Asiata 79), Heyes (Hurd 73), Henderson (Thompson 79), O Chessum (capt), Wainwright, Carnduff, Cracknell (Moro 73). Tries Blamire, Henderson, Carnduff, Steward. Pens Steward, Searle. Con Searle. Northampton Pater (Sleightholme 76); Freeman, Hutchinson, Dingwall (capt), Hendy; F Smith, Mitchell (McParland 58); Iyogun (Fischetti 63), Langdon (R Smith 63), Kundiona (Necolai 54), Coles, Prowse (Van der Mescht 63), Kemeny, Pearson (Lockett 58), Pollock (Chick 54). Yellow card Lockett 70. Try Pater. Con F Smith.
Leicester’s second-half set-piece and aerial control, combined with the dismissal and substitution events late in the game, produced the four unanswered tries that secured the win and a losing Northampton were left with only Pater’s first-half score and Finn Smith’s conversion. The bonus point arrived in the final 10 minutes and confirmed Leicester’s comprehensive second-half turnaround.