• Will Thacker’s late try denies his former club victory
A gusty wind swirled around the ground. It served us a metaphor for Leicester’s season, blown so off course that they still have to secure their Premiership status with two rounds to go after a third successive home defeat. It is the time of the season when the Tigers are used to confirming their place in the play-offs, but the belief that sustained them then has long evaporated. The exceptional has become ordinary.
Leicester took the lead after four minutes here and were level 11-11 at the interval despite playing into the wind. They did not fall behind until the 75th minute, but at no point did they exercise control against opponents who played with the customary exuberance and desire to attack from everywhere. It would have been manna for the Leicester of not that long ago when they had the capacity to grind down teams and feed off mistakes, but here they were caught between the desire to protect their lead and the realisation that it was not big enough.
Written by Paul Rees at Welford Road
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/apr/27/leicester-bristol-premiership-match-report under the title “Leicester Tigers blow chance to secure survival as Bristol earn late win”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
