Tigers edge Gloucester after second-half fightback

Gallagher Premiership

Leicester (8) 29

Tries: Hassell-Collins, Pollard, Bassett, Kelly Cons: Pollard 3 Pens: Pollard

Gloucester (19) 26

Tries: Llewellyn 3, Thomas Cons: Carreras 3

Leicester Tigers overturned an 11-point half-time deficit to squeeze past Gloucester at Welford Road despite a hat-trick of tries from Max Llewellyn.

Centre Llewellyn’s first two tries, sandwiching another from Freddie Thomas, gave the Cherry and Whites a 19-8 advantage at the interval despite a superb finish by Leicester’s Ollie Hassell-Collins.

But it was a different story in the second half, with the Tigers fighting back to lead with scores from Handre Pollard – who added three conversions and a penalty – as well as Josh Bassett and Dan Kelly.

Llewellyn went over again eight minutes from time to complete his first career hat-trick, but Leicester held on for the bonus point win that lifted them to third place in the Premiership table, while Gloucester remain eighth.

The Tigers’ victory also meant they reclaimed the Ed Slater Cup – contested in honour of the former Leicester and Gloucester captain, who is battling motor neurone disease.

Leicester: Steward, Bassett, Kelly, Woodward, Hassell-Collins, Pollard, Van Poortvliet, Smith, Montoya, Heyes, Wells, Chessum, Liebenberg, Reffell, Cracknell.

Replacements: Clare, Cronin, Cole, Manz, Ilione, Youngs, Shillcock, Wand.

Gloucester: Carreras, Hathaway, Llewellyn, S Atkinson, Jones, C Atkinson, Williams, Knight, Singleton, Gotovtsev, Clark, Thomas, Clement, Ludlow, Mercer.

Replacements: Blake, Ruskin, Fosagbon, Alemanno, Tuisue, Taylor, Englefield, Hillman-Cooper.

Referee: Hamish Smales