Saracens keep play-off hopes alive with win over Leicester
WRAP: Noah Caluori’s wonder finish helped keep Saracens’ Prem play-off hopes alive in a 19-15 defeat of Leicester at StoneX Stadium.
Fresh from amassing five tries against Sale a week earlier, the teenage sensation displayed his aerial skills to strike in the 21st minute of an entertaining encounter between rivals for a top-four finish.
It was his 18th try in nine games to continue a stunning breakthrough season that could end with his first cap on England’s summer tour.
Olly Hartley and Eroni Mawi also crossed as Saracens stayed in sight of the play-offs, although their three tries meant they fell one short of also securing a priceless bonus point.
Eroni’s 49th-minute intervention proved to be the winning score and they were clinging on at times during the final quarter as Leicester’s high-octane attack tested their determination to give their season meaning.
Freddie Steward and Ollie Hassell-Collins breached the whitewash for the Tigers, who remain in third place with plenty to shout about from their visit to north London.
Having overwhelmed Sale 85-19 in round 13, Saracens picked up where they had left off with Hartley dancing over in the fourth minute after Jack van Poortvliet had failed to find touch for the visitors.
The early try set the tone for the thrills to come as Leicester hit back by creating space in midfield for Steward to cross before Caluori produced his world class finish in the 21st minute.
Taking a pass from Nick Tompkins, he chipped ahead and after running outside the touchline he drifted back infield to catch his kick and dive over while riding a tackle from Hassell-Collins.
It was just the latest example of his scoring prowess as Saracens exploited centre Izaia Perese being sent to the sin-bin.
The hosts lost Tom Willis to a failed HIA and they cracked again when Leicester built a head of steam with Olly Cracknell bursting clear before Hassell-Collins touched down several phases later.
Caluori produced more gymnastics to touch down again but Hartley had knocked on in the build-up and it was ruled out.
Billy Searle missed a penalty that would have given the Tigers a 15-12 interval lead and Caluori’s influence grew when he was given a penalty for being taken out in the air by Hassell-Collins.
From the ensuing touchfinder Saracens launched the line-out drive that ended with Mawi touching down, but Caluori then invited pressure on to his side when he entered a maul from the side and received a yellow card.
The home side strayed off-side and this time Searle landed the points and there were noisy celebrations amongst the players as Saracens won a penalty to stop a late Leicester assault in its tracks.
The Tigers then forced a penalty that enabled them to stage one final attack with seconds left but they were turned over, leaving them with a losing point to show from a spirited display.
*A resurgent Sale Sharks claimed their first league win of 2026, overpowering a spirited Harlequins side 52-33 in a high-scoring thriller at The Stoop.
Saracens 19-15 Leicester
Scorers:
For Saracens:
Tries: Hartley, Caluori, Mawi
Cons: Burke 2
For Leicester:
Tries: Steward, Hassell-Collins
Cons: Searle
Pens: Searle
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Max Malins, 14 Noah Caluori, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Olly Hartley, 11 Rotimi Segun, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Charlie Bracken, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Marcus Street, 2 Jamie George, 1 Rhys Carre
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Nathan Michelow, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Lucio Cinti
Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Gabriel Hamer-Webb, 13 Izaia Perese, 12 Orlando Bailey, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Olly Cracknell, 7 Joaquin Moro, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Ollie Chessum (c), 4 Cameron Henderson, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 Archie van der Flier, 18 Will Hurd, 19 George Martin, 20 Samuel Williams, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Will Wand, 23 Adam Radwan
Referee: Karl Dickson
Harlequins 33-52 Sale Sharks
Scorers:
For Harlequins:
Tries: Cunningham-South, Petti Pagadizabal, Benson, Hyde, Riley
Cons: M Smith 4
For Sale Sharks:
Tries: Dugdale 2, Longstaff, Ford, O’Flaherty, Harper 2, Roebuck
Cons: Ford 6
Teams:
Harlequins: 15 Jamie Benson, 14 Cameron Anderson, 13 Luke Northmore, 12 Bryn Bradley, 11 Hayden Hyde, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Lucas Friday, 8 Alex Dombrandt (captain), 7 Jack Kenningham, 6 Guido Petti Pagadizábal, 5 Joe Launchbury, 4 Chandler Cunningham-South, 3 Joe Jones, 2 George Turner, 1 Will Hobson.
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Ethan Clarke, 18 Ollie Streeter, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Zach Carr, 21 Will Evans, 22 Jack Grant, 23 Sean Kerr.
Sale Sharks: 15 Tom O’Flaherty, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11 Arron Reed, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Sam Dugdale, 7 Tristan Woodman, 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Ben Bamber, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Alfie Longstaff, 1 Ralph McEachran.
Replacements: 16 Ethan Caine, 17 Tumy Onasanya, 18 James Harper, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Seb Kelly, 21 Dom Hanson, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Ollie Davies.
Referee: George Selwood
Northampton Saints 41-38 Bath
Scorers:
For Northampton:
Tries: F Smith, Freeman3, Sleightholme 2
Cons: F Smith 4
For Bath:
Tries: Hennessey, Green, Carr-Smit, De Glanville, Griffin, Tuipulotu
Cons: Donoghue 4
Teams:
Northampton Saints: 15 George Hendy, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Tom Litchfield, 12 Fraser Dingwall (captain), 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Sam Graham, 6 Josh Kemeny, 5 Ed Prowse, 4 Tom Lockett, 3 Luke Green, 2 Craig Wright, 1 Emmanuel Iyogun.
Replacements: 16 Robbie Smith, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Cleopas Kundiona, 19 JJ Van Der Mescht, 20 Chunya Munga, 21 Callum Chick, 22 Archie McParland, 23 Rory Hutchinson.
Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Louie Hennessey, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Will Butt, 11 Will Muir, 10 Ciaran Donoghue, 9 Bernard van der Linde, 8 Arthur Green, 7 Miles Reid (captain), 6 Josh Bayliss, 5 Ross Molony, 4 Ewan Richards, 3 Kieran Verden, 2 Dan Frost, 1 Scott Kirk.
Replacements: 16 Kepu Tuipulotu, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Enoch Opoku-Gyamfu, 20 Ted Hill, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Sam Winters, 23 Sam Underhill
Referee: Luke Pearce
