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Julian Montoya scores two tries on first start as Leicester bulldoze Worcester
By PA
Argentina hooker Julian Montoya scored two tries as Leicester bulldozed their way to a morale-boosting 41-24 victory over Worcester that was built on forward power. Four of their five tries at Welford Road came from driving mauls the Warriors simply found no way of repelling as the Tigers picked up their third Gallagher Premiership victory of the season.
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Jasper Wiese also touched down twice, while Worcester’s wait for a first win since the opening weekend of the campaign went on. It was a landmark day for Worcester full-back Chris Pennell, who was making his 250th appearance for the club and was given a guard of honour by his team-mates on his way on to the field.
Leicester began on the front foot and, after a chip to the corner, Zack Henry knocked over the first points of the game after nine minutes with a simple penalty. Despite having most of the possession, the Tigers had their lead wiped out by a superbly-struck penalty by Duncan Weir from just inside the Leicester half.
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Parity for Worcester did not last long, however, as Leicester scored the first try of the afternoon in the 22nd minute when Montoya broke off a driving maul to barge his way over, with Henry converting. The Leicester forwards then made up for a forward pass from Matias Moroni by winning a penalty from the resulting scrum, which Henry kicked to extend the lead to 13-3 at half-time.
Things did not get any better for Worcester in the second half as they lost Graham Kitchener to the sin bin seven minutes after the restart. Leicester immediately made the most of their man advantage as a driving maul powered its way over, giving Montoya an armchair ride to his second try of the game.
"He nearly came here in the academy, which is quite surreal, so he has always had a little twinkle in his eye towards Leicester"
– Veteran Tom Youngs sizes up his Leicester hooker battle with new signing Julian Montoya#GallagherPremhttps://t.co/ZIIrXj0KDU
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 27, 2021
By the time Kitchener returned to the field, the Tigers had stretched even further clear, Wiese managing to bundle his way over under the posts following a succession of drives for the line. Worcester finally had something to cheer in the 57th minute when replacement prop Richard Palframan struck from similarly short-range, with Jamie Shillcock adding the extras.
Leicester then went back to their trusted driving maul to claim the try bonus point, with Tom Youngs this time the man to ground the ball over the line. The Warriors were then handed their second try as Oli Morris ran in following his interception, but the Tigers quickly hit back with yet another pushover score as Wiese claimed his second.
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There was still time for the visitors to strike again, as Perry Humphreys was put into the corner by Shillcock’s pass, but not enough for them to snatch a bonus point of their own.
“The relationships didn’t connect as much… sometimes personalities don’t match, faces didn’t fit"
– England's Chris Ashton has fronted the media – including @heagneyl ??? – just 2?? days after joining Worcester from Harlequins #GallagherPremhttps://t.co/oW3OwnwWf6
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 26, 2021
