Saracens survive Isiekwe red card to beat Leicester in Venter's return

Saracens kicked off Brendan Venter's second stint as head coach with a dramatic 40-38 win away at Leicester Tigers on the opening weekend of the new Premiership season.

The match at Welford Road produced 12 tries in total, with Leicester's Gabriel Hamer-Webb crossing the line three times, though it wasn't enough to prevent defeat for the home side.

The contest took a dramatic turn in the 54th minute when Saracens lock Nick Isiekwe was shown a 20-minute red card for a high tackle on Freddie Steward. While Saracens were down to 14 players, Leicester took the lead for the first time through a try from Adam Radwan.

By the time Isiekwe's suspension ended and Eoghan Clarke came on to restore Saracens to a full complement, wing Rotimi Segun had already scored his second try of the match to put the visitors back in front. That lead held until the final whistle.

Saracens started fast, scoring two converted tries inside the first ten minutes through Argentine flanker Juan Martin Gonzalez, playing his 50th league appearance, and Tobias Elliott. Leicester hit back with tries of their own from Solomone Kata and Hamer-Webb.

Saracens' bench options were tested early when centre Olly Hartley suffered an arm injury and Elliott was temporarily withdrawn for a head injury assessment, forcing England flanker Ben Earl into a centre role. It made little dent in Saracens' attacking fluency, with Elliot Daly, back from a broken arm, also getting on the scoresheet.

The win marked Saracens' fourth away victory in five matches over the opening round of the season. Having missed the play-offs for the past two seasons, the club made several notable additions over the summer, including Wales scrum-half Tomos Williams, who was named man of the match, suggesting a promising start to the campaign.