True grit! Tigers display hailed by Borthwick after heroic Cup win
LEICESTER SAW OFF BAYONNE DESPITE THREE YELLOW CARDS
THE grit, determination and heart displayed by Leicester Tigers in their 28-20 victory over Bayonne were highlighted by head coach Steve Borthwick.
Tries from Tommy Reffell and Dan Kelly and seven points from the boot of Zack Henry saw Tigers build an 11-point lead in France before two quickfire yellow cards and a Hugo Zabalza try for the hosts on the stroke of half-time cut the advantage to four points.
But Tigers did more than just defend their lead with 13 men, they built upon it with two further Henry penalties before Kini Murimurivalu’s try later closed the match off as a contest.
“I am really pleased with big aspects of the performance,” said Borthwick. “I’m especially pleased with the grit and determination the players showed.
“While they stuck to the plan we were able to put a lot of pressure on Bayonne and there were periods of time when we went off that plan.
“But what was really pleasing there, was when we went men down the players kept composure, adapted and managed those periods very well.”
Props Joe Heyes and Leatigaga were the forwards sin-binned in the closing periods of the first half but across the 12-minute period of having a numerical disadvantage, Bayonne’s net gain was just one point on the scoreboard.
“The messages were very simple and many of them came from the players,” said Borthwick reflecting on the half-time discussions.
“They managed that period and deserved enormous credit for that.
“I think it was a step forward in certain aspects which is pleasing, but there’s also plenty to work upon.
“There were opportunities we didn’t take and we didn’t exit well out of our own half, that created enormous pressure.
“That has been an area of our game that has been good. What we need to do is make sure we rectify that situation so we don’t put that pressure upon ourselves.”
Cyle Brink became the third Tigers player to be yellow carded with 13 minutes remaining and Andre Gorin’s try threatened to make a game of it when the visitors were punished for conceding 15 penalties to Bayonne’s nine.
But Borthwick was more concerned about how Bayonne were able to build pressure that led to the penalty concessions.
He said: “You’ve seen a lot about the character of the team. I think that’s very, very positive, in terms of character.
“The way the team scrambled back and the way the team defended on their own goalline with such great determination and heart.
“I think we’ve got to look at how the opposition were able to get to those field positions.
“Part of that was how we exited, but then how our defence allowed them to gain metres so quickly on the edge of the field. That put pressure on us.
“Big positives in the way the team defended the goalline, what we need to understand is how they managed to make the metres to put us in that situation.”
Tryscorer Kelly, Cameron Henderson, Jack Van Poortvliet and James Whitcombe were among the Tigers players named for the European Challenge Cup game as they were rewarded for performances in a development XV side’s defeat to Saracens a week ago.
“For each of the players it’s very clear about the job we ask them to do as part of the game plan so the player has to do their job as part of the plan,” added Borthwick.
“The players need to produce a huge amount of effort. We can never ever be beaten.
“The players you’ve just talked about put a huge amount of effort in.
“Then we talk about the competitive desire that they have, the players you mention have a huge amount of competitive desire.
“One player you didn’t mention there was Ollie Chessum who I thought played very well.
“There’s some things in his game to improve upon but I thought it was a step forward in his performance.
“It’s another step forward, we’ve got lots to work upon, things were highlighted and exposed that we need to get better at.”