League One side, and 2021 champions, Leicester City avoid an upset as they beat sixth-tier Oxford City 4-2 at the MGroup Stadium, to reach the second round of the FA Cup.
MATCH REPORT: FA Cup – Oxford City 2-4 Leicester City
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For all the free-flowing, high-scoring rugby in the Prem so far this season, this weekend was something of a throwback.
There were only 21 tries across the five games, whereas a fortnight ago there were 18 tries in the Northampton against Bath game alone.
But, despite the abominable weather altering the whole complexion of round four, there was no shortage of drama.
In the East Midlands derby on Saturday, Leicester Tigers produced a second-half performance that was as vintage Leicester Tigers as you could possibly get: a brutal set-piece and forward display that shook the old foundations of the Crumbie Stand and would have made the ABC Club proud.
In front of a febrile sell-out crowd, the game was played on the edge – a major scuffle breaking out on the stroke of half-time with England team-mates Henry Pollock and Ollie Chessum in the thick of it.
But tensions will have eased quickly. Thirteen of those involved in the derby met up for dinner in the England camp on Sunday.
“This fixture always has some heat behind it, and we know it means a lot to each other and to the fans,” Leicester and England scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet explained to BBC Radio 5 Live.
“We just try and put all our heart on to the pitch. Sometimes it boils over into a little scuffle, but we will go and have a beer with them now. That’s what rugby is about. You play fierce with each other and then enjoy each other’s company.
“We always end up laughing about it. Being in England camp with them almost makes the fixture mean a bit more, because you always want one over them.”
Northampton are the champions and still the team to beat. However, that’s twice in six months they’ve been handed a lesson by the Tigers at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
Saints fans will be comforted by the fact the title is decided in the warm early summer months of May and June, but boss Phil Dowson will still want his side to be as effective in the wet as they are in the dry.
The Prem
Leicester (28) 3
Tries: Blamire, Henderson, Carnduff, Steward Cons: Searle Pens: Steward, Searle
Northampton (7) 7
Tries: Pater Cons: Smith
Leicester Tigers gained revenge for their defeat in last season’s Prem playoff semi-finals to defeat rivals Northampton Saints in torrential conditions at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
In a first half played at the mercy of the weather, neither team was able to find a rhythm, with James Pater’s early opportunist try and Freddie Steward’s long-range penalty the only scores on the board.
But, inspired by a major scuffle on the verge of half-time, the Tigers subsequently dominated.
First, Jamie Blamire drove over from a rolling maul, before Cam Henderson barrelled his way through Saints tacklers to slide over in the corner.
Faced with the onslaught, the shellshocked Saints were unable to prevent further tries from Finn Carnduff and Steward, as the visitors’ wait for a league win at their near rivals stretches to four years.
More to follow
Leicester: Steward; Radwan, Wand, Kata, Hamer-Webb; Searle, van Poortvliet; Van der Flier, Blamire, Heyes; Henderson, Chessum (c), Wainwright, Carnduff, Cracknell.
Replacements: Asiata, Haffar, Hurd, Thompson, Moro, Whiteley, Bailey, Pearson.
Northampton: Pater; Freeman, Hutchinson, Dingwall (c), Hendy; Smith, Mitchell; Iyogun, Langdon, Kundiona; Coles, Prowse, Kemeny, Pearson, Pollock.
Replacements: Smith, Fischetti, Neculai, van der Mescht, Lockett, Chick, McParland, Sleightholme.
Yellow Card: Lockett (69).
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Tuesday’s 4-0 thumping of Bromley followed the 2-1 win over Doncaster which dampened the external noise.
Martin – a sometimes polarising personality with fans who have criticised his style and ability following a 17-game spell at Rangers last season – had been the target of anger following two wins in eight which left them 17th in League One and a point above the relegation zone.
Home defeats by Burton, Oxford and Peterborough were a world away from the Champions League quarter-final against Atletico Madrid in 2017.
That has little bearing internally at the club and BBC Sport can reveal the Foxes were working under a transfer embargo for five weeks in the summer.
It related to the EFL’s Salary Cost Management Protocol (SCMP) with an independent Club Financial Review Panel agreeing future Premier League distributions within Leicester’s SCMP calculation could not be used to increase their spending capacity.
It meant the club could not sign players until they brought money in, although it only disrupted the order of summer business.
Jeremy Monga and Abdul Fatawu were not sold until the middle of July and only after Monga left for Manchester City on 11 July were the Foxes able to bring in Conor Chaplin and Alex McCarthy five days later.
Four of the starting XI on Tuesday signed on deadline day and 66% of the players joined after the season started.
Leicester missed out on targets who were not willing to wait but Chaplin, McCarthy and Wes Burns were just three who were prepared to hold on to join Martin.
It is the relationships the head coach has built and something which has started to turn the tide at Seagrave.
Martin inherited a broken, expensive squad, which had lost the faith and connection with supporters and a dressing room which let egos get in the way and lacked work ethic.
In a different financial reality, it needed to be stripped back and, including loans and academy exits, 34 players left the club in the summer and 16 arrived.
Sources have told BBC Sport the atmosphere at the club has now markedly improved.
The £100m training ground is one of the best in the country – with a herb garden and golf course – but has been seen as part of the problem over the decline in standards.
Players have been allowed to become too comfortable but Martin has worked hard to change the culture and behaviours.
There is a blanket ban on mobile phones in the canteen and anyone breaking the rules is not fined, they run.
Players – and staff – have to run the length of the pitch and back in 35 seconds three times, with a 35-second break in between.
The same punishment is handed out for lateness, with Martin and his senior staff also adhering to it to set the standards.
Earlier this season players left tape and drinks at the swimming pool and were shown a picture the next day. The punishment was the same. Run.
Investec Champions Cup
Pau (17) 41
Tries: Marta 2, Zabala, Grandidier Nkanang, Brau-Boirie Cons: Desperes 5 Pens: Desperes 2
Leicester Tigers (10) 17
Tries: Chessum, Van der Flier Cons: Searle 2 Pen: Searle
Leicester Tigers began their Champions Cup campaign with a 41-17 defeat by French club Pau.
Portugal international Rodrigo Marta crossed for two of the home side’s five tries, with a late burst helping them earn a bonus point from their Pool One opener.
Despite falling behind to an early Pau penalty, Leicester did well in the early exchanges, their tactical kicking game keeping them camped in their opponents’ territory.
Billy Searle’s 50-22 put the Tigers in superb field position and they capitalised through captain Ollie Chessum, who was making his first appearance of the season after recovering from a foot injury.
Pau fought back well, however, showing their quality with three tries in a 20-minute spell either side of half-time.
They had already seen a Sacha Zegueur try ruled out for a knock-on before Marta, the leading try-scorer in this season’s Top 14 with six in five appearances, and prop Jon Zebala touched down late in the first half.
Centre Marta raced in again from 30 metres to extend Pau’s lead after the interval.
Archie van der Flier powered over in the corner to move Leicester back within seven points, but that would be the final time Leicester would be within range of a losing bonus point, as Pau scored 17 points without reply.
Fly-half Axel Desperes added a further penalty, Theo Attissogbe sent winger Aaron Grandidier Nkanang over unchallenged in the corner and Fabien Brau-Boirie intercepted a Leicester pass to complete the scoring.
Leicester’s remaining Pool One matches are against Clermont Auvergne, Glasgow Warriors and Leinster.
The three players have arrived at Welford Road at contrasting times during their careers.
Wainwright is the new kid on the block despite, having played 70 internationals in a nine-year Wales career that includes a Grand Slam title and two Six Nations triumphs. He has also played at two World Cups.
Wainwright moved to Leicester after almost a decade at Dragons to join a growing influx of Wales’ top players in England.
Wales captains Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan have joined Gloucester, with Louis Rees-Zammit, Dafydd Jenkins, Tomos Williams, Nicky Smith, Rhys Carre, Archie Griffin, Tomas Francis and Christ Tshiunza among those also playing in the Prem.
Wainwright is in a lift-share with Reffell and fly-half Billy Searle.
“Reff is keeping keeping me company in the morning, so he’s doing a good job of helping me settle in,” said Wainwright.
“He has helped introduce me to everyone and it felt a bit like it was a first day at school.
“I was nervous but everyone’s been welcoming and I feel I have settled in.”
Wainwright made an instant impression with his team-mates on his debut after setting up Wales wing Gabriel Hamer-Webb with a try-scoring pass against Saracens.
“He moves like a back and hits like a forward,” said Hamer-Webb.
“He has this engine on him that just does not stop and that’s part of the Leicester Tigers DNA.
“He’s also got that soft touch that you saw when he assisted me against Saracens with that great pass.
“I have seen him play before but to be on the same pitch as him and see how he moves, he is phenomenal.”
Wainwright has also become a firm fans’ favourite, as indicated by an incident after the away victory at Newcastle.
“I saw some of the fans and there’s a few that had the headbands and wigs on and I had a photo,” said Wainwright.
“One of them just snuck me a packet of Welsh cakes to take home on the bus. That was a nice touch.”
The 29-year-old still has a fondness for his home city having opened a cafe in Newport.
He has also taken on a director of coaching role at his boyhood club Whiteheads RFC, despite living in a Leicestershire village almost three hours away.
Wainwright deserved his move after being such a loyal servant, playing in a Dragons side that was not used to winning. There were 33 victories, 97 defeats and eight draws in his 138 matches.
Leicester are preparing for the start of the Champions Cup matches away in Pau on Sunday, with Wainwright having never played in the top-tier competition.
He missed the only two Champions Cup games that Dragons played while he was at Rodney Parade, which came back in 2020.
Now, one of Wales’ elite back rowers is finally set to grace Europe’s elite tournament.