Borthwick looks for right blend
TIGERS HEAD COACH WANTS A MIX OF HOMEGROWN TALENT AND FOREIGN STARS TIGERS NEWS
TALENTED: Tigers’ teenage full-back Freddie Steward is being tipped for England honours
LEICESTER Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick has stressed the importance of having a blend of homegrown talent and those from further afield on the pitch to deliver success.
Tigers named teenager Freddie Steward at full-back and Tommy Reffell at openside flanker to face Castres on Sunday – a match that was cancelled due to the French side recording three positive Covid-19 test results.
The recent academy graduates follow in the footsteps of established senior stars who have progressed through the ranks such as Ben and Tom Youngs, Dan Cole and Harry Wells, all of whom were also in the starting line-up for the European Challenge Cup quarter-final that Castres were forced to forfeit.
A combination of relegation being taken out of the equation due to Saracens’ punishment for multiple salary cap breaches, the congested fixture period and the high turnover of players at Welford Road this summer has opened the door for a large number of young players to be given their opportunities in the first team.
“When you look at how many academy representatives have been in the seven teams selected since the restart post-Covid lockdown, you see how many are in there,” said Borthwick, right.
“At the weekend [against
Castres] it was ten Tigers Academy graduates involved in the match-day squad.
“We’ve got to keep pushing those players through and I think it’s a fantastic blend to have those players who have come through Leicester Tigers, who know and understand, they’re from the region, from the city, then have players from the outside, to have that blend is important for going forward.”
Tigers have won two and lost five of their Premiership matches since the restart.
The most recent success, a 28-24 victory over Northampton Saints, provided a massive confidence boost heading into the cancelled Castres clash. That positivity must now be rolled over for Saturday’s semifinal in Toulon.
“Unequivocally, you’re never happy, you’re never comfortable,” said Borthwick on the progress being made.
“You’ve never achieved as much as you would like to achieve because you’re always wanting more.
“And that is the nature of coaching. Do I think we’ve made some progress with those young guys? Definitely. But we always want more.”
Some of Tigers’ young stars have been tipped to emulate other academy graduates and achieve England honours, with 19-year-old Steward receiving plenty of praise after his starring role against the Saints.
Borthwick is hopeful many of his squad will go on to perform at the highest level.
He said: “I want to help the players achieve all their ambitions. I want to help develop players to be the best players they possibly can be. To achieve their international aspirations, I’d be delighted to help.
“Hopefully, for whatever country they want to play for, hopefully there will be those opportunities and maybe they’ll go on and play for England, as a proud Englishman.”
I want to help players be the best they possibly can be and achieve their international aspirations