Head coach Borthwick hails impact of new signings

TIGERS head coach Steve Borthwick has praised the debut performance of scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth, who was named man of the match in the opening victory against Gloucester.

Borthwick said: “I think he played very, very well. I am really pleased for him on his first game, and also Jasper [Wiese] and Tito [Joaquin Diaz Bonilla], and Cyle Brink, who has worked so tremendously hard to overcome a tough injury to get back out and play.

“When you’ve got those players playing their first games along with a lot of players who have only played one or two games, and we’ve still got two players to play for the team and even join us, then, there’s excitement going forward. What we need to do is ensure we look at this really closely, and be clear about what we need to improve upon from this performance.”

It was Borthwick’s first match in sole command since the departure of director of rugby Geordan Murphy.

He said: “From my point of view, I am head coach, on field, and the off-field responsibilities right now are being shared among several people.

“But for me it’s very simple, it’s on-field and coaching. It’s what I love doing and it’s what I really enjoy doing and I see it as a privilege to be here at Leicester Tigers.

“As a coach I love seeing the players’ enjoyment in what they do.

“That right now, from when I was finishing as a player to becoming a coach here, suddenly you’re in a different position, you were on the inside of it, now you’re on the outside.

“You look in and see their enjoyment, I take great enjoyment from their enjoyment.

“I also know that it was the 2,500th game for Leicester Tigers at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, and our supporters couldn’t be here, but I know they would have been watching and I am delighted for our supporters to be able to see the victory.

“I am going to keep saying it because it’s really important, this is one step, there’s things there to build upon but there’s lots of lessons for us to learn and that’s what we’re going to be doing – it’s only one game.”

Borthwick, right, also brushed aside criticism from ex-Tigers, such as Austin Healey, who thought Borthwick wasn’t the right person for the job. He said: “Thank you very much for sharing it, I’d not read it, to be honest I don’t read anything that’s said.

“To be brutally honest, I couldn’t care less about what outsiders say. We’re very clear, Leicester Tigers, with the players here and the supporters here, where we need to go and I am very clear on the journey.”

Tigers’ Argentine prop Facundo Gigena was replaced during the match after taking a blow to the head so could be doubtful for Sunday’s match at London Irish.

Borthwick said: “He’s taken a bang on his cheek bone, it’s pretty swollen right now, we need to get that properly assessed, we don’t know what the damage is, we will get that assessed and then we will know.”

On whether more players could be available for the London Irish game, Borthwick added: “We’ve got a couple of players who are doing really well in terms of their rehab and returning from injury. “Then going forward, Matias Moroni will be joining us and Luan de Bruin will be joining the squad as soon as possible.

“There’s a few guys we have [recovering from long-term injuries] and there’s a few guys who have been recovering from the Covid situation.

“We will assess all the players on Monday and look at their availability for selection for next week.”