'Lads were making calls and Tim didn’t know what they were' - Mark McCall

Michael Cheika refused to celebrate Leicester’s impressive start to the Gallagher Premiership season that continued with a 32-29 victory over Saracens.

The Tigers recorded their first win at StoneX Stadium for six years to enter the break for autumn internationals second in the table, having lost only one of their six matches.

Former Australia head coach Cheika has orchestrated a club revival and Leicester’s resolve was evident in north London where they withstood a final-quarter fightback from Saracens to edge over the line.

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“You don’t get a trophy for second. You don’t get trophies six weeks in and second in the table,” Cheika said.

“I’m happy with the team, the connection in the dressing room, the commitment of the lads and the ability to get over hurdles. If that converts into the scoreboard and the table, then great.

Gallagher Premiership

P

W

L

D

PF

PA

PD

BP T

BP-7

BP

Total

1

Bath

6

5

1

0

25

2

Leicester

6

5

1

0

24

3

Bristol

6

4

2

0

24

4

Saracens

6

4

2

0

23

5

Gloucester

6

2

4

0

16

6

Northampton

6

3

3

0

14

7

Sale

6

3

3

0

14

8

Harlequins

5

2

3

0

13

9

Exeter Chiefs

5

0

5

0

5

10

Newcastle

6

1

5

0

4

“It was a good battle against Saracens. I liked the physicality in the game. We won some battles, lost some others.

“I like the way that, even when the momentum swung back against us, we put our flag in the ground and said we’re not moving from here, we’re going to win the game.

“We’re enjoying our climb and the journey together. When things don’t go our way I want the guys to get big.

“We’re getting better, but you’ve always got to keep it real, take it from week to week and let the bigger picture take care of itself.”

Both sides were missing their England players ahead of New Zealand’s visit to Allianz Stadium next Saturday, but Saracens were also hit the loss of fly-half Alex Goode and prop Marco Riccioni to injury in the warm-up.

With Goode, Fergus Burke and Louie Johnson all in the treatment room, it meant Tim Swiel started at 10 despite having only joined the club on a short-term contract during the week.

“We had a lot of disruption to deal with this week. We lost our starting props in the last 24 hours, we lost Fergus on Wednesday and then Alex in the warm-up,” boss Mark McCall said.

“Tim Swiel hadn’t run a play with us and for him to get thrown in at the deep end wasn’t easy.

“The lads were making calls and Tim didn’t know what they were. It’s not a great situation, but he managed his way through the game and I thought he did really well.

“Our rugby wasn’t great, but we did have the resolve and resilience and that gets you a long way.

“There’s a good way to lose and a bad way to lose and that was one of the better ways.”