Leicester 31-17 Worcester: Tigers secure play-off spot with victory against Warriors - Ruck

Leicester 31-17 Worcester: Tigers secure play-off spot with victory against Warriors

  • Leicester secured their place in the Premiership semi-finals for the 12th successive year with a bonus-point win over Worcester.
  • The hosts led 21-17 at the break with tries from Vereniki Goneva, Opeti Fonua and Telusa Veainu.
  • Will Evans secured the bonus point and the win for Tigers in the second half
Leicester Tigers produced a composed second-half performance to secure a 31-17 bonus-point victory over a spirited Worcester on Saturday afternoon.

A topsy-turvy first-half saw both sides spend periods in the lead. It was a high-scoring first 40 minutes with tries from Vereniki Goneva, Opeti Funa and Telusa Veainu putting Leicester in the ascendancy. Bryce Heem and Andy Symons kept Warriors in touch with the score 21-17 at the break.

The Warriors’ resistance was broken in the second-half as a try from Will Evans put the match to bed.

It was an impressive performance from Worcester but the quality of the home side proved just too much after the interval. Having secured the bonus-point, Leicester remains in fourth, one point off third-placed Exeter having played a game more.

Meanwhile, Worcester’s 9th place has been assured for a while now but will be encouraged for next season after only gaining promotion to the Premiership last season.


Leicester: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Peter Betham, 12 Mathew Tait, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Opeti Fonua, 7 Lachlan McCaffrey, 6 Ed Slater (c), 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Dom Barrow, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Marcos Ayerza
Replacements: 16 Greg Bateman, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Will Evans, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Tommy Bell, 23 Matt Smith

Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Andy Symons, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Cooper Vuna, 10 Tom Heathcote, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 GJ van Velze (c), 7 Carl Kirwan, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Darren Barry, 4 Tevita Cavubati, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Val Rapava Ruskin
Replacements: 16 Jaba Bregvadze, 17 Na’ama Leleimalefaga, 18 James Johnston, 19 Donncha O’Callaghan, 20 Sam Betty, 21 Luke Baldwin,22 Ryan Lamb, 23 Dean Hammond


Date: Saturday, April 30
Venue: Welford Road
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Gregory Garner
Assistant Referees: Jonathan Healy, Kevin Stewart
TMO: David Rose