Yahoo Sports Pollard inspires Tigers to eight-try win over Sharks
Leicester Tigers: (35) 56
Tries: Montoya 2, Hassell-Collins, Kata, Pollard, Van Poortvliet, Clare, Ilione Cons: Pollard 6, Shillcock 2
Sharks: (10) 17
Tries: Tshituka, Hooker Cons: Masuku 2 Pen: Masuku
Handre Pollard marked his Leicester Tigers return with a 17-point haul as they cruised past Sharks to kickstart their Investec Champions Cup campaign.
Pollard, who missed his side's opening Pool 1 defeat at Bordeaux Begles, scored one of the hosts' eight tries and maintained a perfect kicking record from the tee at Welford Road.
The South Africa fly-half managed the game beautifully and found touch with the boot to lay the foundations for Tigers' opening two tries, which were almost identical rolling mauls, finished off by captain Julian Montoya.
An understrength Sharks side, who left Pollard's Springboks team-mates Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth at home in Durban, replied through Manu Tshituka but failed to threaten much more as the hosts took control.
Ollie Hassell-Collins was the beneficiary of Eduan Keyter's error of judgement before Solomone Kata burst through in midfield to seal a bonus point within 34 minutes.
Pollard claimed Tigers' fifth try before the interval and Jack van Poortvliet sniped over to ensure they quickly regained momentum after the break.
Ethan Hooker registered a consolation for Sharks on the hour mark, but Tigers had the final say as replacements Charlie Clare and Emeka Ilione both burrowed over from close range before the end.
Tigers leapfrogged Sharks with the crushing success to move up to second in the table, while the South African side dropped to fourth.
Leicester put Sharks to the sword
Leicester rested several of their stars in Bordeaux last weekend, but still showed plenty of commitment before a flurry of second-half tries broke their resolve.
Head coach Michael Cheika welcomed back six internationals for the visit of Sharks, who arrived in the east Midlands after a comfortable opening victory over Exeter but without many of their frontline players.
Siya Masuku nudged the visitors in front with an early penalty before Pollard, deep inside Tigers territory, spotted the space behind the Sharks defence and pumped the ball long for an excellent touch-finder.
Montoya threw the ball in at the line-out before joining the maul, which kept on rolling until it crossed the line.
Tshituka fired back from close range but another Pollard kick to touch resulted in another powerful rolling maul as Montoya doubled his tally from the same method.
Sharks, looking to heed their early lessons, tried to prevent another mammoth Pollard kick from reaching touch, but as Keyter reached for the ball, his tip behind him bounced up for the chasing Hassell-Collins to gather and touch down.
Leicester moved the ball with purpose across the field but mixed the power with the technique as Kata brushed off one white shirt to glide through unopposed before Pollard combined with half-back partner Van Poortvliet to dive over for number five.
Scrum-half Van Poortvliet then turned from provider to finisher as he was alert to an opportunity at the breakdown and sniped over from close range.
Clare and Ilione, two of Leicester's replacements who performed so admirably to no avail in Bordeaux, entered the fray to cross in the final nine minutes and add the gloss to a dominant Tigers display.
Bigger tests lie ahead for Cheika's side, but victory moved Tigers one step closer to sealing a top-four finish and last-16 place.
Line-ups
Leicester Tigers: Steward; Bassett, Perese, Kata, Hassell-Collins; Pollard, Van Poortvliet; Smith, Montoya (c), Heyes, Wells, Martin, Liebenberg, Reffell, Cracknell.
Replacements: Clare, Cronin, Cole, Henderson, Ilione, Youngs, Shillcock, Woodward.
Sharks: Jo Hendrikse; Keyter, Hooker, Venter, Penxe; Masuku, Ja Hendrikse; Mchunu, Richardson, Nyakane, Jenkins, Van Heerden, Buthelezi (c), Labuschagne, Tshituka.
Replacements: Bester, Ganyane, Jacobs, Rahl, Mavesere, Davids, Appollis, Kunene.
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Ita)
