Leicester Tigers recorded a 36-19 victory over Nottingham Rugby in a pre-season fixture at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
The home side scored six tries to come away victorious in front of almost 10,000 supporters on Friday evening.
Tigers took just three minutes to register their first of the evening, to Emeka Ilione out wide, before adding a second after ten minutes when scrum-half Joe Powell sniped from the back of a dominant scrum to diver over.
Charlie Atkinson converted to see the lead out to 10-0 in as many minutes.
A penalty-try in the 28th minute extended the lead to 17 points, before Harry Simmons latched on to a Mike Brown grubber to score the fourth after half an hour.
The home side were inches from adding a fifth soon after following an impressive interplay between players from deep inside their own half, including a rampaging run from James Cronin but knocked on just shy of Notts' line.
However, with sixty seconds left in the first-half, Leicester had a fifth when Dan Kelly dived over under the posts and Atkinson converted to make it 31-0 at the break.
Nottingham were the first to add to the scoreboard in the second-half, just two minutes after the break, when David Williams scored on the end of a backline move and the visitors converted to make it 31-7.
Dan McKellar made eleven changes with half an hour left on the clock, to add to three changes at half-time, and a young Tigers outfit put on a well-executed driving maul for Dan Richardson to dot down at the back of the pack and make it 36-7 with 15 minutes to go.
Nottingham then found their way over on two occasions in the final ten minutes to cut the deficit to 17 points, 38-19, at the full-time whistle.
Commentary
FULL-TIME
The final whistle is blown on an exciting game brimming with attacking verve.
Tigers are the victors today after a blistering first half but take nothing away from the visitors. A great game of rugby all round.
Final score: Leicester Tigers 36 - 19 Nottingham Rugby
CONVERSION | NOTTINGHAM RUGBY
An equally excellent conversion from the visitors adds the extra two points and the final whistle is blown.
TRY | NOTTINGHAM RUGBY
The visitors score a well-worked try following the sending off, slick intricate passing creating a hole in midfield for them to burst through and dive over in the game's dying embers.
YELLOW CARD | ELLIOT GOURLAY
The young back is sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on as Nottingham looked to spread the ball wide.
76
CONVERSION MISSED | NOTTINGHAM RUGBY
The visitors are unlucky as a cracking kick from the left touchline cruelly strikes the left-hand post.
TRY | NOTTINGHAM RUGBY
The visitors edge closer and closer to the line, each phase pushing them nearer to the whitewash.
Finally, with a mighty collective effort they crash over the line.
TRY | Leicester Tigers
After a pair of line-outs on the five-mere, Tigers score their first try of the second-half.
From the set-piece, the forwards are tasked with the most attritional of hard yards, fighting for millimetres of space, edging closer to the line before they finally go over.
SUBSTITUTION | Leicester Tigers
Senior Academy star Charlie Myall enters the field, coming on for Phil Cokanasiga.
SUBSTITUTIONS | NOTTINGHAM RUGBY
The visitors respond in kind, emptying the bench and making wholesale switches across the XV.
SUBSTITUTIONS | Leicester Tigers
A raft of substitutions for the home side, with 11 players entering the field.
As our match day announcer Martin Ballard succinctly puts it, everybody is coming on and, equally, everybody is coming off.
SUBSTITUTIONS | NOTTINGHAM RUGBY
Jordan Olowofela is down after a heavy collision in midfield and he is replaced by No. 22, George Cox.
CONVERSION | NOTTINGHAM RUGBY
On the angle, Morgan Bunting confidently converts and adds the extras for Nottingham.
TRY | NOTTINGHAM RUGBY
A cracking try from the visitors as wing David Williams, coming in off the right, takes a delightful pop ball from his fly-half and shoots through on a fantastic angle, diving over to score.
SUBSTITUTIONS | Leicester Tigers
Three substitutions at half-time as James Whitcombe comes on to replace James Cronin, Joshua Manz is on for opening try-scorer Emeka Ilione and Mike Williams returns to the Mattioli Woods Welford Road turf as he comes on for Sam Carter.
UNDERWAY FOR THE SECOND HALF
As we kick off in this second half, the team are ready and raring to go as they edge closer to a big win to kick-off the season.
HALF-TIME
The half-the whistle blows and Tigers go into the break five tries and 31 points to the good.
An attacking start to life under Dan McKellar, it's certainly been an entertaining clash at Mattioli Woods Welford Road thus far.
CONVERSION | CHARLIE ATKINSON
Atkinson slots the ball through the posts from directly beneath as the half-time whistle blows.
TRY | DAN KELLY
After more great work from Joe Powell, it's James Cronin with a huge break in midfield to start this move off, the prop suddenly in acres of space and just the full-back to beat.
He opts, typically, to carry straight into contact before Dan Kelly crashes through into space in the move after.
Tigers lose the ball but reset from the away side's clearance until the ball eventually finds its way back into Kelly's hands.
This time the centre makes no mistake, plows through the covering full-back and touches down to end the half on a high.
23
CONVERSION MISSED | CHARLIE ATKINSON
The No. 10 is again unlucky from out-wide, fizzing it past the post.
TRY | HARRY SIMMONS
This is a delightful try from Leicester Tigers!
A backs move executed to perfection, Tigers go the full width, Atkinson sending a flat pass to Mike Brown, the veteran then poking through a perfectly placed grubber kick to the waiting arms of Simmons who can touch down in the right corner.
PENALTY TRY | LEICESTER TIGERS
With marginal gains across the field, Tigers make their way to within a few metres of the Nottingham line.
In a subsequent scrum, the referee awards the penalty try.
13
Tigers alleviate the pressure
Nottingham win a penalty just 10 metres out and elect to kick to the corner.
They play the ball out and send in a couple of runners but Tigers capitalise on a handling error to claim the ball back and allow Charlie Atkinson to find touch from his own goalie.
11
Nottingham on the attack
Nottingham go close in Tigers left-hand corner after full-back, and former Tiger, Jordan Olowofela makes a nice break through midfield.
The away side win a line out on Tigers 22, where Olowofela makes another break to land Nottingham just outside the try line.
They attempt an audacious cross field click but Josh Bassett is across well to cover.
CONVERSION | CHARLIE ATKINSON
The fly-half makes no mistake this time, slotting the kick with ease.
TRY | JOE POWELL
The backs have split from a five-metre scrum, and Joe Powell, from the back of the scrum, spots the gaps between the defence and darts over to score beneath the posts.
6
50-22 from Cokanasiga
Tigers are put under some pressure in their own half but do well to rip the ball away and send it out to the backs, where Phil Cokanasiga launches an excellently placed 50-22 up the field.
4
CONVERSION MISSED | CHARLIE ATKINSON
The young fly-half sends the kick wide from a tough angle on the right touchline.
TRY | EMEKA ILIONE
The flanker opens the scoring tonight with a score in the corner.
From a line-out Tigers sent wave after wave of one up runners into contact, sending the ball from left to right before quick thinking from new signing Joe Powell puts Ilione into space out wide.
WE'RE UNDERWAY AT MATTIOLI WOODS WELFORD ROAD
Charlie Atkinson begins proceedings here with a deep kick into a cloudy sky.
The 2023/24 rugby season, the biggest ever at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, has begun!
-5
Five minutes to go!
With five minutes left to kick off, there is a real buzz at Mattioli Woods Welford Road as fans are eager to watch the Tigers boys kick off the 2023/24 season.
As the sun begins to set, the excitement is palpable as we draw ever closer to that first whistle.
Stick with us here on Matchday Live and we'll have all the updates for you from Leicester Tigers vs. Nottingham Rugby!
-30
30 minutes to go!
There's just half an hour until the opening fixture of the 2023/24 season begins at Mattioli Woods Welford Road!