Leone Nakarawa inspires Racing 92 to victory over Leicester Tigers

Perhaps not redemption for Leicester – Leone Nakarawa’s quite sublime skills put paid to that – but a step on the road nonetheless. The Tigers were simply dreadful away from home in Europe last season and while they still have not won in the competition on their travels since 2015, they begin this campaign with a losing bonus point and even a few lingering thoughts of what might have been.

Matt Smith was clear in the corner just before half-time and had he not been tackled by a flying Census Johnston, the Tigers would have led at the interval. On such fine margins are matches at this level decided but it would have been horribly unfair had Nakarawa ended up on the losing side. Dan Carter’s absence from the teamsheet may have been somewhat deflating but the 29-year-old Fijian brought his full box of tricks and, in this mood, is worth the admission fee alone, not to mention his bumper contract.

“[Nakarawa] is a special athlete. He is a big man, he offloads the ball and he moves really well,” said Leicester’s head coach, Matt O’Connor. “Once he is behind you it is very difficult and that is probably the lesson for us next time around. With those Fijian lads they love open spaces and they are very hard to stop, as we found today.”

Leicester can take credit for not allowing Racing to run away from them after the interval, and while they briefly threatened a comeback they spent so long on the back foot, it always looked unlikely. “If we had come away empty-handed then it would have been a waste of an afternoon,” O’Connor added. “Thankfully we got a game point out of it and we stay alive in the group.”

Racing have an enormous forward pack but as Leicester demonstrated with their opening try, quick ball can catch them flat-footed and there was no stopping Luke Hamilton after just three minutes, the Welsh flanker taking Ben Youngs’ short pass and splashing over. Already Leicester had more points than in their 34-3 defeat last season.

Racing, however, responded with three tries before half-time and Nakarawa had a hand – as is his offloading style, it is often only one – in each of them. He scored the first in the right-hand corner, producing a slam-dunk finish more befitting a basketball court after a Racing scrum under the posts.

A George Ford penalty put Leicester back in front but Nakarawa was at it again soon after, offloading to Wenceslas Lauret before Bernard Le Roux pounced from close range. The third try was finished by the right wing Teddy Thomas, but again it owed much to a Nakarawa offload, allowing Le Roux to gallop in behind before the ball was worked wide. The conversion was off target this time, however, meaning Leicester trailed by nine points and when Nick Malouf was released on the right, only a high tackle from Vimi Vakatawa could stop him. Vakatawa was promptly sent to the sinbin – after one of numerous referrals to the TMO – and May made Leicester’s numerical advantage pay off almost immediately.

As was the case last week against London Irish, it came from a perfectly flighted long pass from Matt Toomua. This one was harder to finish but such is the form Jonny May is in – this was a seventh try in as many appearances for the Tigers – there was only one likely outcome.

Ford missed the conversion but Leicester could scent the chance to lead at half-time and as the ball was worked to the left it seemed certain Smith would score in the corner. Johnston, who tips the scales at more than 21 stone, had other ideas, throwing himself at the Tigers centre and dislodging the ball.

After the break, Nakarawa kept coming. At one point he was surrounded by what must have been four Leicester tacklers yet still he got the offload away. Racing could only extend their advantage by a Maxime Machenaud penalty, however – Ellis Genge and his captain Tom Youngs leading the rearguard manfully.

Racing’s lead was seven and how they would have loved a fourth try to put the game to bed and collect a bonus point. Another score for Leicester, though, would make for a grandstand finish and May was almost in again on the left – Thomas and Machenaud combining to force him into touch just short. Fine margins again.

A Ford penalty with three minutes to go, after Camille Chat had upended Pat Cilliers and somehow escaped a yellow card, brought Leicester within four points and while Racing pushed for the fourth try late on, the Tigers can take satisfaction that they denied it to them.