DOM BARROW
Tigers lock demands response after last week’s horror show
ULTRA-COMPETITIVE Leicester lock Dom Barrow is determined to erase the pain of last year’s Champions Cup semi-final loss to Racing 92 in today’s rematch.
Tigers let a golden opportunity to reach their first European final in seven years when they lost 19-16 to the reigning Top 14 champions after a belowpar performance at Nottingham’s City Ground.
Barrow started that game and last week’s record 42-13 loss to Glasgow, and the powerful 23-yearold says motivation won’t be a problem at Welford Road this weekend.
“I hate losing and I am hugely competitive, ambitious and target-driven so to fall just short in the manner we did was very frustrating,” Barrow told The Rugby Paper.
“Games like that stick in the memory and I don’t think I have felt as disappointed after a match as I did that day. I think we turned the ball over something like 26 times in last year’s semi-final and that meant we weren’t able to go through the phases and put them under pressure.
“Had we played like we had been playing up to that point of the season, the game would have been ours for the taking.
“We all know how rare opportunities to play in European semi-finals are so to not play to our potential was very disappointing. But the beauty of rugby is you get another opportunity to put things right.”
Reflecting on the horrorshow at Scotstoun, Barrow puts the blame on the crazy 11-minute period in the first half when they shipped three tries.
“You can’t do that and survive. We were only nine points down at half-time but on a wet night in Glasgow, that was always going to be a mountain to climb,” he admitted.
“We had to force the game in the second half and that’s why we gave away two intercept tries – by throwing passes we’d have otherwise held on to.
“It’s certainly not the way we wanted to start in Europe but this is a new week and if you can’t get up for Racing at home then there’s something wrong.”
Barrow, a former Newcastle and Leeds player, is keen to build on a promising first season at Leicester.
He made 24 appearances after moving to the Midlands from the Falcons, and his physical, no-nonsense style of play prompted Tigers’ director of rugby Richard Cockerill to draw comparisons with the likes of club legends Martin Johnson and Louis Deacon.
“It is hugely flattering to be compared to that kind of player,” he said.
“I turned up at Leicester with a knee injury and worked hard with the medical and strength and conditioning staff to get back earlier than expected and I ended up playing 24 games. I felt my form was really good.”
Barrow missed a month of this season after being concussed in the opening game against Gloucester but is now hoping for a lengthy run in the team as he looks to press forward his England claims.
The former England U20 Junior World Cup winner said: “There’s that tour to Argentina this summer and I make no bones about it, I want to be on that tour.
“With the Lions tour happening at the same time, it is a big opportunity and a real goal of mine. I was disappointed not to go to South Africa with the Saxons in the summer but that’s just motivated me even more.”