Leicester Tigers have come away victorious from their first Derby Day Double last night, Monday 17 April 2023.
Leicester Tigers scored seven tries to make it a 45-14 victory over Northampton Saints at their Mattioli Woods stadium in the first meeting of the Derby Day Double between their East Midlands rivals.
The 31-point win made it three from three for the home club for the weekend after wins in the Women's Championship semi-final and Gallagher Premiership.
The game saw a host of up-and-coming players perform incredibly well, with players returning from injury also gracing the field and delighting the fans.
Skipper Francois van Wyk scored the first try after only 2 minutes of play, and this was successfully converted by Atkinson.
The score was swiftly levelled when Karl Wilkins of Northampton scored, with James Grayson converting comfortably, bring the score to 7 - 7.
Fly-half Atkinson scored again in the 18th minute, converting his own try and taking the Tigers into the lead with 14 points.
Soon after, Kini Murimurivalu offloaded a brilliant ball to Sean Jansen, who dived over the south west corner and took the score to 19 - 7, Atkinson missing this conversion after early success.
The opposition side's Craig Wright scored from the back of a driving maul, Grayson converted seeing Saints boost their total to 14.
Fall-back Murimurivalu scored a try of his own before half time, with Atkinson converting his third try to take the score to 26 - 14 before the whistle blew.
Leicester's lead was increased to 19 points early in the second half, when Phil Cokanasiga put down another well-fought try. Once again, Atkinson converted to make 33-14.
20 minutes into the second half, the score for Tigers was boosted by two tries in quick succession, one from Hosea Saumaki and the other Joe Browning, both wingers. Joe Browning's try had the crowd cheering, his successful interception a thrilling try to watch.
In fact, Browning performed well throughout, always finding space and appearing ready for any passes coming his way, his speed and agility noted by the crowd.
Atkinson's final conversion was successful, securing a hefty win for the young Tigers team of 45 - 14.
This games provides a great opportunity for young players to showcase their talent, and that talent was not to be missed last night.
Tigers will face Northampton Saints again on Saturday 29 April 2023, 2pm, at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.
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