Match Centre: Leicester Tigers 33-31 London Irish

Leicester Tigers 33-31 London Irish, Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium

Leicester Tigers managed to hold off a spirited second half fightback from London Irish as they sealed a two-point victory at Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium on Sunday.

The Tigers had a lead of 26-14 in the opening half but were challenged by the Exiles, who came close to snatch an away victory.

This is fourth victory for the Tigers as they climbed to the fifth place in the table while London Irish's poor season continues as they lost their seven match in eight and are languishing at the bottom.

It took just two minutes for Leicester to start the proceedings as Julian Montoya, who was amongst the five players returning from international duties made impact as he picked up at the back of a ruck and found his way over to score and Freddie Burns kicked the conversion.

The scores were levelled shortly as Api Ratuniyarawa, who was held up previously went over at the back of a line out drive and Paddy Jackson improved it.

Nevertheless, the Tigers seized control of the game when Richard Wigglesworth sneaked around the blindside of a line out drive and touched down with the try awarded after a consultation with the TMO in the 14th minute. Nine minutes later Matt Scott picked up a loose ball to feed Harry Potter for their third try making it 19-7.

The bonus point came around the half-hour mark as Leicester went to left corner after another penalty advantage and from the line out drive, Tommy Reffell dotted down. Burns followed with the conversion to extend the home side's lead to 26-7.

However, just before the break, Leicester's momentum came to a halt as Olly Cracknell was sin-binned for bringing down a maul and a penalty try was awarded to the visitors as the teams completed the opening half with a 26-14 scoreline.

London Irish extended their momentum into the second half as Matt Rogerson went over the line in the 47th minute and two minutes later Oliver Hassell-Collins claimed the fourth try. Jackson missed the second conversion but the Exiles were truly in the game with the scores levelled at 26-26 with the final 30 minutes left.

Replacement Jasper Wiese provided Leicester the edge with their fifth try coming in the 55th minute and Burns added the extras to put them seven points ahead but there was an immediate response from London Irish as they broke on the left and launched an attack at the end of which Tom Pearson went over. Jackson missed a crucial conversion which proved to be the difference as they were trailing by two points.

Burns had a couple of misses in the final 15 minutes but luckily for the Tigers it did not haunt them as they maintained their two-point lead for the remainder of the game to complete a thrilling win.

Team line up:

Leicester Tigers: Watson; Ashton, Potter, Scott, Nadolo; Burns, Wigglesworth; Whitcombe, Montoya, Cole; Martin, Green, Liebenberg, Reffell, Cracknell.

Reserves: Clare, Van Wyk, Heyes, O. Chessum, Wiese, Edwards, Atkinson, Porter.

London Irish: Parton; Loader, Joseph, Janse Van Rensburg, Hassell-Collins; Jackson, Powell; Fa'aso'o, Rogerson, Pearson; Ratuniyarawa, Munga, Chawatama, Creevy, Gigena.

Reserves: Willemse, Hoskins, Fischetti, Caulfield, Gonzalez, Cunningham-South, White, Morisi.