Days after adorning the front cover of Tatler alongside fashion royalty in Valentina Pinault, Henry Pollock was the at the centre of a 30-man scrap in the driving rain at Welford Road.

By the end of this East Midlands derby clash between two bitter rivals, which was played both in a white-hot atmosphere and awful conditions, Pollock could have been forgiven for wishing he was back on the set of a glossy magazine photoshoot. He and Northampton endured more Welford Road misery. 

At the same venue where he so noticeably imploded as his team were hammered 41-19 in this fixture last season, Pollock was substituted in just the 53rd minute after being at the centre of a mass brawl on the half-time whistle.

Pollock did nothing initially to provoke Leicester angst. But he then attempted to delay the teams entering the tunnel by looking to tie his laces. English rugby’s most talked about player always seems to find himself in the centre of the action, even if here, it was in defeat.

Leicester were deserved 28-7 victors, edging their bitter rivals through a significant raise in their physicality and basic skill level after the break and a dominant scrum. ‘Maybe we would have played even better in the second half if it (the half time fight) hadn't happened,’ said a delighted Leicester head coach Geoff Parling. ‘Can that fire you up? Yes, it can do.

‘But it's not something to rely on and I didn’t think we would. I was already in the changing room (when it happened). It was honestly the calmest changing room you could think of.’

Pollock sheltered himself from the pre-match rain through the use of a snood. He warmed up with some keepy-uppies. Leicester were bang up for battle. Gabriel Hamer-Webb encouraged the home crowd. The brilliant Freddie Steward paced the field like a prized fighter.

The wet weather meant this was always going to be a dogfight and so it proved. Pollock was straight into the action with an early carry, as was his No 10 team-mate Fin Smith who was smashed back by a double Leicester tackle. Smith spent the rest of his game limping, but he was still able to chip for James Pater to open the scoring. 

Playing with a penalty advantage, Smith’s kick was a shot to nothing. But it worked wonderfully as his opposite number Bily Searle couldn’t collect. Saints were playing into a strong wind, one proved when Steward put Leicester on the board with a monster penalty from just inside his opposition’s half.

Otherwise, constant errors and the whistle of referee Craig Maxwell-Keys dominated the encounter. The first half ended with a mass melee between both teams, sparked by Saints No 9 Alex Mitchell.

Pollock clashed with Leicester captain Ollie Chessum and Steward on the entrance to the tunnel. Chessum grabbed Pollock by the throat and pushed him. The fight put Leicester on the path to success and derailed Saints. ‘It’s part of the game. Emotions are high. It’s physical. Everything is in your face and there was a moment just before half time,’ said Steward.

The Tigers were dominant after the break. Pollock smashed Aaron Wainwright, but the Tigers mauled over through Jamie Blamire and their scrum – led by prop star man Joe Heyes – was dominant.

Heyes said: ‘It was a pretty hot changing room. We had to calm ourselves down a bit, but it added a bit of fuel to the fire. It means a lot to the locality. These fixtures are awesome. This is the best derby in the country.’

Pollock was removed from the fray with Saints rattled. Pater and Smith spilled balls in the backfield. Leicester’s scrum was outstanding, giving them the platform from which beanpole lock Cameron Henderson finished spectacularly before Finn Carnduff made it three. Searle couldn’t convert either but did kick a simple penalty and that was that.

Tom Lockett’s yellow card for a dangerous tackle, which earned Leicester wing Adam Radwan a yellow card reprieve, summed up Northampton’s day and there was still time for Steward to give Leicester a bonus-point through their fourth try. Steward jumped for joy. So too did the home crowd.

‘These games are going to be hostile,’ said beaten Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson. ‘In the current game you can’t throw anything (punches). It's just push and shove. I don't think that had any impact. Leicester were very good after half time.’