TIGERS FEEL FANTASTIC
Borthwick: I’m staggered by power of our following – it matters more than cash
Leicester v Connacht
BT Sport, 1pm
BY ALEX SPINK
STEVE BORTHWICK says Leicester’s “incredible” fan base can compensate for any lack of financial muscle on rugby’s biggest stage.
Tigers play Connacht in the Champions Cup today with a near-20,000 crowd expected at Welford Road.
While no team in England can match Tigers’ support, Sale and Bristol have swooped to sign prize Leicester assets George Ford and Ellis Genge.
The loss of such heavyweight talent – one being the brains of the Premiership leaders, the other the captain – would floor many teams.
But head coach Borthwick believes the club’s unrivalled support can fuel his team’s unbeaten start to the season.
“The club doesn’t necessarily have the resources of other teams,” said the former England captain and forwards coach.
“What we have, which other teams don’t, is an incredible support base.
“The following has staggered me. We had 25,000 people here last time. They’re the lifeblood of this club, they give us a real competitive advantage.
“These people were supporting the team before I came here and will be long after I’ve gone – and I’m really grateful to them for everything they give.
“We really love having our supporters in the ground and I want to make sure we give them plenty to cheer, because they help this team enormously.”
Borthwick has turned water into wine since leaving Eddie Jones’ Red Rose set-up to take on the challenge of awakening a sleeping giant. Tigers are 10-time English champions, yet in the nine years since their most recent crown have fallen so far that in 2019-20 they would have been relegated but for Saracens being kicked out after cheating the salary cap.
Borthwick said: “When I came in and started understanding where we were at as a club I thought ‘There’s a lot of work to do here... new CEO, new finance
director new coaching team...’
“But I was absolutely determined to do it.
“It’s not very often you get the opportunity at a club the size of this to try to turn it around and do something special.”
Tigers will need their fans to be in full voice today against opponents who last week hammered two-time runners-up
Stade Francais by six tries to nil in a 36-9 romp.
If Ford’s decision to join Sale was a body blow to the Leicester faithful then Genge’s announcement last week that he was joining Bristol, complete with video of him embracing Bears boss Pat Lam, provoked an angry response.
One Leicester fan branded it “embarrassing and very disrespectful” to Tigers.
With Bristol next up for Leicester in the Premiership on Boxing Day, such a public way of proceeding understandably went down like a lead balloon.
Genge conceded: “Potentially got the timing of the video wrong. I’ll wear that on the chin.”
His vacant slot this afternoon is taken by Nephi Leatigaga, while Freddie Burns takes over from Ford at fly-half.
England full-back Freddie Steward starts on the wing.