Leicester 15-12 Saracens: Freddie Burns comes off the bench to kick a dramatic LAST-MINUTE drop goal to hand the Tigers their first Premiership title since 2013
Freddie Burns was so delirious at clinching title glory for Leicester that he’d nearly reached the Twickenham car park by the time his Tigers team-mate caught up with his celebration sprint. Seconds earlier, the veteran fly-half had struck the drop goal which settled this close contest and sparked mayhem at the national stadium. Saracens had pulled the score back to 12-12 courtesy of captain Owen Farrell’s fourth penalty, only for Burns to come up trumps when it really mattered. When Leicester seized the ball from the re-start, Burns thumped it off the pitch and set off on his joyous run – evidently bewildered by the magnitude of what he had done. A fine player and a good man who has endured his fair share of adversity could barely compute being the hero of the hour. Freddie Burns proved to be the match-winner as he kicked the crucial drop goal late on Burns came on early on after George Ford had to go off due to injury in the first half High up above, Steve Borthwick reacted very differently. As his players cavorted around the field in response to their thrilling victory in the Gallagher Premiership Final, the architect of their triumph sat very still, barely registering a flicker of emotion, even as he was hugged by assistants and staff. These were the instant snap-shots of a remarkable feat, as Leicester won the league for the first time since 2013 and evoked memories of their golden past in front of thousands of their fans in south west London. There were soon others, as George Ford gritted his teeth through the pain of shattering injury to join in with the touchline euphoria and the Youngs brothers savoured the sporting high at a time of family grief. In his last act as Leicester captain before a summer move back to Bristol, Ellis Genge lifted the trophy which symbolised how the Tigers have risen from the depths. This was their redemption moment, after many dark days in recent years. Not so long ago, they were clinging to a place in the top division and now they have conquered it again. The skipper was a real force for the victors, as were the South African pair in the back row – try-scorers Hanro Liebenberg and Jasper Wiese, along with rookie England forward Ollie Chessum. The latter was prominent as the Tigers pack calmly engineered the platform for Burns’ glory shot. Leicester celebrate Hanro Liebenberg's try which put them ahead at Twickenham Jasper Wiese extended Leicester's lead by going over from close range in the first half What a coup this is for Borthwick, who has enhanced what was already a formidable coaching reputation with this epic, two-year transformation of a big club who were in a state of utter disarray when he arrived. It will add weight to calls for him to be appointed as England head coach when Eddie Jones steps down after next year’s World Cup, but the Leicester hierarchy may wish to keep hold of him in the hope of building a new dynasty. Jones was in attendance and he will have noted the performances of Genge, Chessum and Freddie Steward, who recovered from early wobbles to deliver another influential performance at full-back. But he may also have noted how Billy Vunipola was a colossus in adversity for Saracens. The No 8 made tackles, won turnovers, hit rucks and kept pounding through and around opponents in vintage fashion. He can’t do much more to earn an England recall. Yet, as a team, Saracens did not function. They were eclipsed up front and subdued by the Leicester defence. They were chased and harried and rushed into a torrent of errors. Maro Itoje was strangely subdued. The fact that they stayed in the hunt until the end was a testament to their spirit, but they were out-played in most areas and rarely threatened. Their own recovery mission fell just short of its intended target.