Tigers edge Sarries to title

Twickenham - A 77th minute try from Dan Hipkiss handed Leicester a 33-27 win over Saracens and the English Premiership title here at Twickenham on Saturday.

In a dramatic finale centre Hipkiss barrelled over to give Leicester a second successive Premiership just seconds after fly-half Glen Jackson had given Saracens the lead.

Saracens have never been in a Premiership final -- and had not played a Twickenham final since 1998 -- and in the end their inability to close out a big game counted against them.

Leicester's Louis Deacon was penalised for coming in on the wrong side with four minutes left. Jackson converted the chance to put the Londoners 27-26 in front.

But twice former European champions Leicester are masters at pinching big games and when Saracens let their attention wonder briefly, seconds after Jackson's kick, they were made to pay.

Saracens were first out of the blocks with a Glen Jackson penalty after three minutes but Toby Flood soon levelled it for Leicester, in their sixth consecutive final.

The game came alive in the 14th minute, however, when Matt Smith was put away for the first try only to see Marius Joubert, Saracens captain for the day, touching down after good work from Jacques Burger.

Ben Youngs, one of England's brightest junior players, and on his way to Australia on the senior tour on Monday, then made his mark by outwitting Steve Borthwick for Leicester's second try.

Borthwick was playing his first game since March and will not be on England duty in Australia and New Zealand but Saracens played him to bring his line-out expertise to the showpiece game.

But the Saracens line-out was second best all day and Borthwick was replaced after 45 minutes and it was left to his replacement as captain, for the day, Ernst Joubert to close the gap.

Joubert went over for this second try - after flanker Andy Saull and centre Adam Powell had manufactured the opening to Leicester with a slender two-point lead.

The fact that Saracens were even competitive at this stage of the season and the match was a testament to their coach Brendan Venter, who was banned from Twickenham for this match after failing in last week's appeal for his punishment following a recent fracas, at Leicester.

Venter was watching the game at home as Leicester's front row turned the screw and the Saracens pack started to concede penalties.

Flood made the most of one of those opportunities to give Leicester a 26-21 lead but Saracens playmaker Jackson narrowed that to 26-24 with a 40-metre effort from the left-hand touchline and his later effort was to give his team a narrow lead.

But Hipkiss and the tenacity of the Leicester side ensured that Saracens came away with nothing.

Scorers:

Leicester Tigers
PENK 5 Min (Flood)
TRY 13 Min (Smith)
CONV 14 Min (Flood)
PENK 20 Min (Flood)
TRY 28 Min (Youngs)
CONV 29 Min (Flood)
PENK 48 Min (Flood)
PENK 61 Min (Flood)
TRY 77 Min (Hipkiss)
CONV 78 Min (Flood)

Saracens
PENK 2 Min (Jackson)
PENK 10 Min (Jackson)
TRY 18 Min (Joubert)
PENK 25 Min (Jackson)
TRY 49 Min (Joubert)
CONV 50 Min (Jackson)
PENK 71 Min (Jackson)
PENK 76 Min (Jackson)

Teams:


Leicester Tigers

    * Ayerza
    * Chuter
    * Castrogiovanni
    * Deacon
    * Parling
    * Croft
    * Moody
    * Crane
    * Youngs
    * Flood
    * Tuilagi
    * Allen
    * Smith
    * Hamilton
    * Murphy

RESERVES

    * Duffey
    * Cole
    * Stankovich
    * Newby
    * Woods
    * Grindal
    * Staunton

   
Saracens

    * Aguero
    * Brits
    * Du Plessis
    * Borthwick
    * Vyvyan
    * Burger
    * Saull
    * Joubert
    * De Kock
    * Jackson
    * Wyles
    * Barritt
    * Powell
    * Tagicakibau
    * Goode

RESERVES

    * Ongaro
    * Gill
    * Skuse
    * Botha
    * Melck
    * Marshall
    * Hougaard