Premiership: Leicester Tigers 41-24 Worcester Warriors

Worcester had won two of their three most recent trips to Leicester

Leicester hookers Julian Montoya and Tom Youngs scored three of the Tigers' five tries between them as they earned a 41-24 win over struggling Worcester.

Already 13-3 up at the break, Montoya's second after the restart was followed by a first for flanker Jasper Wiese.

From 27-3 down, Warriors did respond with tries from Richard Palframan, Oli Morris and Perry Humphreys.

But Youngs and a second for number eight Wiese made Tigers comfortable, bolstered by Zack Henry's 16 points.

On a day when Worcester full-back Chris Pennell became only the second Warriors player to make 250 appearances for the club in the professional era, the visitors were hampered by the first-half loss of Scotland reserve fly-half Duncan Weir with a shoulder injury.

But they remain without a win since the opening day of the season, having now lost eight successive games in all competitions.

They now lead bottom club Gloucester by just a point and are kept off the foot of the Premiership table only by the four points awarded for their Covid-postponed home game with Harlequins on New Year's Day.

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All five Leicester tries came from forwards, four of them driving mauls, as Steve Borthwick's Tigers picked up only their third Premiership victory of the season.

After Henry knocked over the first points of the game after nine minutes with a simple penalty, Weir levelled with a superbly-struck penalty from just inside the Leicester half.

But Montoya broke off a driving maul to barge over on 22 minutes, then came Weir's removal from the action, followed by a second Henry penalty for a 10-point half-time lead.

Worcester then lost Graham Kitchener to the sin bin seven minutes after the restart, and Tigers twice took advantage, through Montoya and Wiese.

After Warriors replacement prop Richard Palframan had also scored from close range, former England hooker Youngs restored the Tigers' cushion, just five minutes after coming off the bench for Argentine international Montoya.

An interception try from young centre Morris - only playing because Ollie Lawrence is on England duty - was followed by a second score for Wiese.

But, although Warriors had the last word when winger Humphreys was put in at the corner by replacement stand-off Jamie Shillcock, who then landed his third conversion, they fell short of a try bonus point.

Leicester head coach Steve Borthwick:

"You saw what a good team Worcester were with their performance last week against Exeter, when they probably should have won. We knew it was going to be a tough battle.

"We stepped forward in some areas, but there are plenty of things we need to work on. What's really pleased me is that the players were really disappointed last Friday night.

"We put ourselves in a position to get something. But, from then onwards, the guys have displayed an attitude to not only step forward. They wanted to take this game on and they did that."

Worcester head coach Jonathan Thomas:

"Discipline was going to be so important and, if you look at that first half, defensively, we were really physical. They weren't really making any yards, but our ill-discipline was giving them the territory.

"Because of that we gave Leicester the game they wanted to play, which was naive from us. Four of their five tries came from penalties, which led to territory, which led to mauls.

"The big thing was just naivety. You can't talk about it in the week and then not deliver at the weekend. Unfortunately for us, we've not learned from that first 20 minutes last week. We've given it to Leicester on a plate."

Leicester Tigers: Steward; Van Wyk, Moroni, Scott, Nadolo; Henry, Wigglesworth (capt); Bruin, Montoya, Cole, Lavanini, Green, Liebenberg, Brink, Wiese.

Replacements: T Youngs, Leatigaga, Heyes, Wells, Martin, Van Poortvliet, McPhillips, Murimurivalu.

Worcester Warriors: Pennell; David, Morris, Beck, Humphreys; Weir, Simpson; Thomas, Annett, Schonert, Bresler, Kitchener, Mama, Kvesic (capt), du Preez.

Replacements: Cutting, Waller, Palframan, Clegg, Hill, Lewis Hougaard, Shillcock.

Sin bin: Kitchener (47).

Referee: Andrew Jackson (RFU).

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