If England were looking for a boost before today’s opening international of the season, they received it last night from their champion club.

A Leicester side full of eager youngsters scrummaged South Africa’s midweek team into the ground at Welford Road and added an unexpected but illustrious chapter to their club’s distinguished history.

Even allowing for this being the first game of a five-match European tour, that conditions were strange and that they lacked unity, the South Africans should still have made a better fist of it. But they were not only outscrummaged, they were out-thought and outfought.

Leicester, celebrating the official opening of their new Caterpillar Stand and roared on by a capacity crowd, claimed the breakdown as their own.

They swept up loose ball and, in defence, tackled everything that moved. Replete with players promoted from their academy, they played as one, the South Africans as individuals. “I don’t know where the spirit comes from; it has to be the desire of the players who want to play for the club,” Richard Cockerill, the Leicester coach, said.

Maybe the visiting team fooled themselves by scoring eight points in as many minutes. Ruan Pienaar, whose tactical direction was variable, kicked an early penalty goal and Earl Rose’s cross-kick made a try for Jongi Nokwe. But teenagers such as Manu Tuilagi conceded no ground to distinguished opponents, nine of them capped at senior level. Ben Youngs kicked the first of five penalties and, even better, Johne Murphy prompted the move continued by Tuilagi that gave Lucas Amorosino a swerving 40-metre run to the posts.

Three penalties by Youngs around half-time, against one by Pienaar, kept Leicester in front. Geoff Parling’s fine lineout leap denied South Africa a platform and although they dominated territory in the second half and Pienaar kicked two more goals, they could not crack a confident defence.

Peter Tom, the Leicester chairman, was exultant. “Five players in that team were under 20 but the scrum was just so impressive,” he said. “It was a most amazing evening for the club.”

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Scorers: Leicester: Try: Amorosino (27min). Conversion: Youngs. Penalty goals: Youngs 5 (10, 32, 40, 46, 59). South Africa XV: Try: Nokwe (8). Penalty goals: Pienaar 4 (6, 40+1, 65, 77).

Scoring sequence (Leicester first): 0-3, 0-8, 3-8, 10-8, 13-8, 16-8, 16-11 (half-time), 19-11, 22-11, 22-14, 22-17.
Leicester: S Hamilton, L Amorosino (rep: L Tuqiri, 56), A Forsyth, M Tuilagi, J Murphy, A Mauqer, B Youngs, B Stankovich, M Davies (rep: G Chuter, 52), M Castrogiovanni (rep: D Cole, 65), C Green, D Hemmingway, G Parling, B Pienaar (rep: T Armes, 60), B Deacon (rep C Hammond, 13).
South Africa XV: E Rose (rep: R Viljoen, 65), O Ndungane, J de Jongh, W Olivier (rep: M Bosman, 64), J Nokwe, R Pienaar, H Adams (rep: F Hougaard, 54), G Steenkamp (rep: H van der Merwe, 43), M Ralepelle (rep B Maku, 20), J du Plessis, D Rossouw (rep: A Hargreaves, 60), A Bekker, D Potgieter, D Raubenheimer (rep: J Deyselm, 48), A Johnson.
Referee: S Dickinson (Australia).
Attendance: 24,000.