Saracens, the reigning Premiership champions, emerged victorious against Leicester Tigers, courtesy of tries from three World Cup stars who had returned to action.
Maro Itoje, Billy Vunipola, and Jamie George, prominent figures in the England national team’s third-place finish in France, all found the tryline for Saracens. The first half saw Itoje and Andy Christie crossing the whitewash, propelling Saracens to an 11-point lead.
Vunipola and George contributed further tries, with Tom Whiteley and Jamie Shillcock responding in kind for Leicester Tigers. Owen Farrell added 12 crucial points through his precise kicking, securing a bonus-point victory with a final score of 32-17.
Nevertheless, in the second half, Farrell committed a costly error that led to the opposition scoring a try, marring an otherwise successful return to Premiership action.
One fan wrote: “Owen Farrell made to look silly that’ll do,”
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Rugby World Cup referee’s reveal the ‘toughest’ players to referee
In fairness, dissent in international rugby isn’t as big of a problem compared to something like football. But who are the worst players to manage in rugby history?
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Well, we’ve discovered quotes from six of the world’s finest officials down the years who told stories about trying to control some of football’s bad boys.
Interestingly, one name cropped up on three occasions…
Matthew Carley – Steve Borthwick
On Borthwick: “A difficult question. When I first started refereeing in the Premiership Steve Borthwick was one of the guys who was pretty intimidating.
“He saw that everything was on ‘his terms, whether you like it or not’. He had such presence. I think you learn how to deal with people like that as a ref, but Steve Borthwick, was as tough as they come.”
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