LEICESTER completed one of English rugby’s most memorable revivals on Saturday by being crowned champions after twice flirting with relegation in recent seasons.

Only Newcastle finished below them in 2019 and two years ago Leicester avoided the drop because Saracens were relegated as punishment for repeated salary cap breaches.

The Tigers ended a nine-year wait to secure Premiership silverware by toppling Saracens 15-12 in the competition’s play-off at Twickenham courtesy of Freddie Burns’s drop goal 20 seconds from time.

While Leicester plummeted down the league table, Saracens, Exeter, Northampton and Harlequins all surged past them to land titles that the Tigers used to win regularly. Under head coach Steve Borthwick, though, they have reached the summit once more after a season when they were top of the table throughout and had an unbeaten Premiership home record.

“The improvement we’ve seen over the last year is really encouraging, and hopefully we can kick on again from here,” Leicester and England full-back Freddie Steward said.

The final five minutes of a pulsating final summed up Leicester’s spirit, as they prevailed after centre Matt Scott had been sin-binned and Saracens and England captain Owen Farrell kicked a penalty to tie things up and seemingly send the final hurtling towards extra time.

“It was the theme of the season, really, where we are under the pump and we dig in and fight for each other,” Steward said. “Those last five minutes encapsulated it — the fight, the belief — and we did it. We came together, and that is testament to the culture we have built at Leicester.”

Steward’s own spectacular rugby journey over the past 12 months will continue with the 21-year-old set to be named in Eddie Jones’s England squad today for a three-Test Australia tour next month.