In their final match before the Guinness Six Nations begins, Leicester Tigers faced an experienced Saracens team and took them to the wire before a difficult final ten minutes saw the hosts run away with it.

Red Rose fly half Zoe Harrison gets us underway on a sunny afternoon at the StoneX Stadium, her high kick collected by Churchy Knight. The visitors set well, Amy Cokayne carrying hard before Claire Gallagher makes a sudden break through the middle, a punchy line from the centre splitting the Saracens defence in two. She makes it to halfway but is hauled down, knocking on in the process.

From one mistake, Saracens seize control of the game and don’t let go until they’ve scored the opening try of the match. A well-executed 50.22 is followed up by successive lineouts which keep the pressure on before a five-metre scrum finally sees the Tigers defence breached, Harrison checking inside and crashing through a tackle to touch down.

Just a couple of minutes later, though, and Tigers bite back. A ranging kick is collected well by Amanda Swartz and the visitors look to take advantage of a broken field ahead of them. Lucy Nye distributes swiftly and a slick move involving Cokayne, Gallagher and Meg Jones finds Roisin McBrien in the edge-forward role out wide before the ball comes back to the opposite wing and Tess Feury makes metres.

Tigers win a penalty for Saracens sealing the ball off and they make it count, the forwards battering up until McBrien hits a flat line and touches down, M Jones converting to level the scores.

Leicester has a firm foothold in the match now and for the next twenty minutes they dominate possession, Saracens only able to exit their own 22 through kicks long as the game is all in the hosts half.

Tigers throw the kitchen sink at their opponents in this period, Amelia Tutt seeing successive breaks out on the right-hand side, Tahlia Brody making consistent metres over the gainline with her typically abrasive carries as Tigers fly into contact across the park, Tash Jones, Catha Jacobs and Eva Donaldson all hitting contact as Tigers try to double their advantage.

Unable to breach a hardworking Saracens defence and with the long range weapon of Zoe Harrison’s boot alleviating pressure, the last 10 minutes sees Saracens wrestle possession back, with Poppy Cleall making a big break in midfield.

Again we see the clinical nature of the three-time Premiership champions and a miscommunication at a Tigers line out 10 metres out, May Campbell takes advantage and drives low to cross the whitewash in front of the posts.

With just a couple of minutes left on the clock, a breathless spell sees both sides look to launch attacks, a late yellow card shown to Cleall as Tigers get on a huge shove to put the hosts into touch and end the half strongly despite going into the break behind.

Half time score: Saracens Women 14 – 7 Leicester Tigers

The first half sees Tigers start brightly, flying over the whitewash almost immediately after kick off. Amanda Swartz makes successive breaks down the blindside, the Swedish captain showing great support on the shoulder of forwards to make tens of metres all on her own. Tigers press the momentum, keeping the pressure on with big carries and forcing a scrum that allowed Brody to pick and go from the base, crashing over from the line.

Aiming to reestablish their lead, Saracens pour up the field and force Tigers into the danger zone, a scrum inside their own five metres. The scrum is won by the hosts and their lead restored with it.

Now it’s Tigers who look to fight back and reclaim momentum. Successive turnovers, one inside their own 22 before Meg Jones wins a second one in midfield.

With Saracens are sprinting up in defence to try and shut down Leicester’s running threats, Gallagher counters this beautifully with a delicate chip and chase, collecting well to make it to the 22. Momentum firmly with the side just five metres out, a kick to touch sees a classic Tigers driving maul start rolling with Leah Bartlett on the back to touch down. With Meg Jones hitting a booming touchline conversion, suddenly we’re back to within two points with just twenty minutes remaining.

Saracens, now with the bench emptied of international stars like Marlie Packer and Jess Breach on the field, come roaring back into the match once more. A massive M Jones shot wins yet another turnover but Saracens turn the ball over at the set piece again and exploit the overlap for Lotte Clapp to touch down in the corner.

With the game ticking into the final 15 minutes, it’s the hosts with the momentum and finally there are no further swings back and forth. Saracens dominate the final ten minutes, with four additional tries in quick succession.

Substitutes Bryony Field and Breach both going over from short range before, with seconds to go, fullback Paige Farries cuts through the Tigers defence and then a huge break from Packer sees Poppy Cleall finally put a bow on what had been an incredibly competitive outing up to that point, with Saracens securing a dominant victory that had been in the balance for 70 minutes of the match.

An outing packed with positives for Leicester Tigers, only a late flurry of tries masked what was a close, hard-fought match between two sides with plenty of power and quality across the field.

Full time score: Saracens Women 54 – 19 Leicester Tigers