Leicester head coach Heyneke Meyer admitted he is going grey after seeing his side leave it late to beat Northampton.
Tigers get back on track as Saints let slip late lead on their travels
Leicester head coach Heyneke Meyer hailed the character of his side after they bounced back to winning ways against Northampton.
The Tigers came into the game off the back of a home defeat to Wasps on Friday night, a result that ended their perfect start to the campaign.
They found life tough though against their east Midlands rivals who held a 19-16 lead with 11 minutes left at Welford Road.
In the end the hosts came out on top as the returning Dan Hipkiss crossed for a crucial try eight minutes from time.
Pressure
"My hair is grey after only five games, so I don't know how I will survive the season," a relieved Mayer said afterwards.
"There was a lot of pressure on the players after the defeat to Wasps and they showed a lot of character. I'm very proud of the guys. They played great rugby in the first half, but we didn't execute.
"There was no panic at half-time. I thought if we kept pressuring them in the second half, the tries would come and that's how it turned out.
"I knew we had to keep playing direct and positive in the second half."
Proud
Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder was disappointed his team couldn't hang on after leading at half time and in the closing stages.
Despite the loss he was pleased with the performance of his players just hours after flanker Neil Best had been handed an 18-week ban for eye gouging.
"We panicked a bit near the end," Mallinder admitted.
"We need to look after the ball better in the second half. We need to address that because our away games are following a similar pattern.
"I'm really proud of the lads and it's a shame we could not get something out of the game. We have to start taking points away from home."
