• Leicester 24-8 Northampton
• Defending champions suffer bruising three-try defeat

Back to the rugby we all know and love. Hard, cold, a burst of torrential rain towards the end, four yellows, four tries and one old rival delighting in rubbing another’s face in the dirt.

Northampton may be champions, but Leicester remain Leicester. They love nothing more than turning screws and making people from down the road weep. If the latter could also be denied tries three times by the closest of calls, so much the better.