Reinvigorated Tigers should be striving for play-off place
LEICESTER Tigers had, by common consent, a pretty decent season last time out, given what had gone before.
The club’s management, overseeing seasons of underachievement, had lowered expectations to the degree that anything better than relegation was greeted with, if not joy, at least acceptance.
The arrival of Steve Borthwick has seen a sea change. Sixth in the league and a European final was a good return following the awful stuff Leicester’s fans had to endure previously. The sixth position was also gained with a number of very close calls where one point could have become four, and others where the bonus point, either for tries or close defeats, was spurned.
An average return in bonus points would have seen the Tigers very close to fourth place (and denying eventual champions Harlequins a place in the play-offs!)
So, what can Leicester aim for this season? The obvious answer, of course, is at least a topfour place and the playoffs and, as last season demonstrated, once you’re there anything can happen in two one-off matches.
Europe will almost certainly be beyond the squad as assembled at the moment – and probably beyond any English team working within the salary cap because of the resources available to the French clubs and the Irish regions.
The defence still shows worrying frailties, and nine tries conceded in three warm-up games is just too many
In any case the club should always be aiming for the top and privately I am absolutely certain that Borthwick is not a man to accept defeat gracefully. However, pre-season has not been particularly encouraging. A not particularly dominant victory over Championship side Jersey, and something similar against an underprepared Dragons (with worrying defensive lapses thrown in) weren’t great. The loss to the Scarlets at Mattioli Woods Welford Road was even less so.
A number of issues are worrying, if hopefully fixable. The scrum has not resembled the excellent attacking weapon it became last season.
Hopefully, this a case of rust, rather than terminal problems, but given Tigers’ game plan it has to improve quickly.
Likewise, the lineout has gone backwards. This area has to be rock solid for the Tigers territorial approach to bear fruit.
The defence still shows worrying frailties, and nine tries conceded in three games (one against a Championship side) is just too many.
Hopefully, the team will quickly adapt to the demands of Kevin Sinfield’s defensive systems.
All these issues are fixable, hopefully in the short term, and if they are fixed the Tigers can still look forward to more improvement this season. The real thing starts this week!