LEICESTER ‘IN A GOOD PLACE’ FOR MUNSTER DUELS

LEICESTER head coach Matt O’Connor believes the Tigers have put themselves “in a really good place” in terms of this season’s Champions Cup campaign.

The hosts romped to a seven-try, 54-29 victory as they ran Castres ragged at Welford Road. And it put them top of Pool Four as they build towards home and away games against long-standing European rivals Munster in December.

“To take six points out of those first two games is important and puts you in a really good place from where you can probably control your own destiny,” O’Connor said.

“There are still four incredibly tough games to go, and we will have to be really good to get results across the course of those games, but it is a good place to be at the moment.”

Full-back Telusa Veainu led the way, claiming three of Tigers’ touchdowns, while England wing Jonny May added a double, making it nine tries in eight games since joining from Gloucester.

There were also tries for scrum-half Ben Youngs and wing Nick Malouf, with George Ford kicking four conversions and three penalties for a 17-point haul and his brother Joe adding one conversion.

Castres, despite being outplayed for long periods, somehow conjured a losing bonus point following wing David Smith’s try treble during 11 second-half minutes and a touchdown from number eight Alex Tulou, while scrum-half Rory Kockott added a penalty and three conversions.

Leicester led 47-3 after 50 minutes, but they then conceded four tries as Castres belatedly showed some quality.

“We would have been more than happy for it to stop at 60 minutes,” O’Connor said. “That would have been a better result. We have got to make sure that we are better at home. There was a softness in defence that was nowhere standard, and we have got to make sure that doesn’t continue.”

O’Connor, meanwhile, said that prop Ellis Genge and centre Matt Toomua will have scans next week after they went off injured, adding: “Fingers crossed, they are not too serious.”