Leicester Tigers' Gallagher Premiership title defence has begun with a last-gasp 24-20 defeat at the hands of Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park on the opening day of the season this afternoon.
The champions produced a second-half fightback to overturn a 17-6 half-time deficit, and they were seconds away from clinching a notable opening-day win until Patrick Schickerling's match-winning try at the death.
A penalty try midway through the first half put Exeter ahead both on the scoreboard and on the field, with Leicester's Freddie Burns sin-binned for his role.
The Chiefs, who suffered a disappointing 2021-22 campaign after winning the double the season before, then extended their advantage when Solomone Kata went over with a debut try right on the stroke of half time.
Solomone Kata scores for Exeter on his debut. #GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/4MmzzcAp0D
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) September 10, 2022
There was more bad news for the Tigers at the interval as Burns failed an HIA and was unable to come back out for the second half, but Leicester rallied and produced a fine second-half fightback.
It started early, and came from an unlikely source, as Dan Cole led a chase and charged down a kick before giving the ball to his captain Hanro Liebenberg to cross.
Charlie Clare then touched down following a driving maul to put Leicester in front, and a disallowed Exeter try moments later signified the switch in fortunes at Sandy Park.
Dan Cole charges down Joe Simmonds' kick and Hanro Liebenberg scores for Leicester Tigers. #GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/esEQ47wHDk
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) September 10, 2022
The Chiefs continued to push for victory, though, turning down a kickable penalty which would have secured a draw to instead go for the corner in the closing stages, and that proved to be a risk that paid off as Schickerling burrowed over from close range.
Elsewhere there was an opening-day thriller at Kingston Park as Newcastle Falcons and Harlequins shared 71 points, the visitors running out 40-31 winners.
There were five tries in the first half alone as George McGuigan, Adam Radwan and Nathan Earle all went over for the hosts - the latter right on the stroke of half time - while Tyrone Green and Wilco Louw crossed for Harlequins.
The scoring showed no sign of slowing down in the second half either, with Newcastle's three-point half-time lead quickly wiped out when George Head and Lennox Anyanwu touched down within 10 minutes of each other.
McGuigan then got his second try of the afternoon and Logovi'i Mulipola got in the act too as the topsy-turvy contest swung back in favour of Newcastle, but it was the visitors who would get the last laugh.
Two tries in the final six minutes turned the game on its head one last time, with Alex Dombrandt and Joe Marchant going over to secure the win for Quins.
London Irish made a scintillating start to their campaign with a seven-try win over troubled Worcester Warriors, who put in a battling performance amid ongoing payment issues with their players.
The hosts' first 31 points came without reply as they set down another attacking statement at the start of the season, with Ben Donnell, Ben White and Ollie Hassell-Collins all scoring in the first half.
Henry Arundell and Will Joseph also touched down before the hour mark, and it was not until Curtis Langdon's score after 66 minutes that Worcester finally got on the board.
Jamie Shillcock also registered for the beleaguered visitors, but there was never any danger of a fightback with Agustin Creevy and Arundell's second capping off the win for Irish.
Barney Corkhill
