Borthwick is not getting carried away with victory
LEICESTER Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick refused to get carried away after dispatching Exeter Chiefs in the opening round of the Gallagher Premiership season.
Tries from Nic Dolly (2), Matt Scott, Harry Potter and Freddie Steward helped secure a 34-19 bonus-point victory over last season’s defeated finalists.
But Rob Baxter’s visitors were without a raft of big-name stars including four British and Irish Lions tourists.
“The players’ effort I thought was excellent,’’ said Borthwick.
“We were pleased with the start, while also understanding that Exeter were missing an awful lot of players.
“That was an Exeter team that was heavily changed and I think we’ve got to be respectful of that but pleased with what we did.’’
Tigers flew out of the traps with a third-minute George Ford penalty that was backed up a phenomenal first try of the game which saw 25 passes made before Freddie Steward crossed the line.
“I thought we were very clear about what kind of team we are,’’ said Borthwick.
“We put the foundations in place last year and we tried to build upon the foundations. We are very clear about what kind of team we are.”
Exeter, who still had the likes of Jack Nowell, Henry Slade and Joe Simmonds in their backs division, enjoyed strong periods of pressure but came up against a Leicester defence that stood up to the task even when Harry Wells was yellow carded following the concession of a second-half penalty try.
“The first thing [for us] was not to have the yellow card,’’ explained Borthwick.
“I think at the end of last season we were the best team in the Premiership in terms of the penalty count.
“Saturday was poor in that regard, so it’s a sign we’ve got to improve considerably in that area.
“We play Gloucester on Friday night, at Kingsholm, if we give the opposition that many opportunities on our goalline, by giving penalties away, you’ll do very well to come away without conceding points without getting yellow cards.”
For the first time since February 2020, all four stands at Mattioli Woods Welford Road were open for the game as more than 17,000 arrived for the turnstiles.
Borthwick said: “The players are very grateful to our supporters, I think the supporters offered a great atmosphere. It was great to have them in our stadium.”