Last-minute drop-goal hands Leicester title
Freddie Burns's last-minute drop-goal helped Leicester end a nine-year wait to be crowned champions of England once again as they defeated Saracens 15-12 in a dramatic Premiership final at Twickenham on Saturday. The Tigers had been 12-6 ahead thanks to tries by Hanro Liebenberg and Jasper Wiese, only for Saracens to draw level through the boot of England's Owen Farrell. But with 22 seconds left on the clock, Burns – only on the field as a replacement for the injured George Ford – dropped a goal that gave Leicester their 11th English title. "That's my job to kick it but we were up against it and we pulled ourselves up from the depths again," Burns, 32, told the BBC. "I'm in shock... I said when I was five years old that I had two ambitions and that was to play for my country and to win the Premiership and with a year in Japan I thought it has gone," he added. Leicester dominated territory and possession but were unable to put Saracens away until Burns scored his first drop-goal of the season. Two years ago, five-time Premiership champions Saracens were relegated from the top-flight after being hit with a 105-point deduction for breaches of salary cap rules. Had it not been for that huge penalty, Leicester, the English club game's dominant force for much of the 1990s and 2000s, would have been demoted to the Championship. But under the guidance of former England captain Steve Borthwick, who started his coaching career while a player at Saracens, the Tigers were never headed at the top of the table during the 2021/22 regular campaign. (AFP)