Aviva Premiership: London Welsh battle hard but lose to Leicester

Leicester overcame a spirited London Welsh side to record a 26-5 victory at the Kassam Stadium on Sunday.

The two teams were locked together at 5-5 just before the break, but the Tigers tore into their hosts in the second half to seal a win that moves them up to fifth in the Aviva Premiership table.

Harry Thacker scored two tries for the visitors, Graham Kitchener and replacement Robert Barbieri grabbing the others, with Tommy Bell kicking three conversions for Leicester.

Winger Nick Scott touched down for London Welsh, who were buoyed by an impressive effort from number eight Opeti Fonua before the new recruit had to be helped off late in the second half.

Leicester gave Bell a Premiership debut at full-back and he was given the extra responsibility of taking over the kicking duties after Freddie Burns struggled off the tee.

Burns had the game's first chance for points but his long-range penalty sailed wide as the Tigers made a whole host of mistakes in the opening 15 minutes.

Surprise lead

Welsh were unable to get out of their half but another missed penalty from Burns ensured that the match remained scoreless after the first quarter, allowing the home team to surprisingly take the lead with Seb Jewell skilfully placing a cross-field kick directly into the path of team-mate Scott, who easily collected and finished.

After the two misses from Burns, Leicester opted for an attacking line-out after being awarded another penalty. This time it paid dividends with Thacker crashing over for the try, though the conversion was missed.

Welsh nearly regained the lead when Lachlan McCaffrey charged down a clearance kick and looked set to score, only for Burns to race back and narrowly beat the flanker to the ball.

However, Leicester moved in front for the first time just before the interval, another attacking line-out leading to Thacker completing his brace with a try that Bell converted to make it 12-5.

Leicester dominated the opening period of the second half and deservedly went further ahead when Kitchener brushed aside two tacklers to score, Bell once again adding the extras.

Barbieri finished off another line-out drive to secure the extra bonus point in the 64th minute, finally breaking the resolve of a spirited Welsh side who have now lost eight from eight in the league.