Leicester Tigers - 4th

STORY OF THE SEASON: How long have you got? Horrendous injuries not least the ongoing Manu Tulagi situation and the eventual retirement of Marcos Ayerza; a dodgy but hardly disastrous start; a couple of Euro thrashings; the departure of cult hero director of rugby Richard Cockerill; the promotion of Aaron Mauger; an upturn in fortunes as players returned from injury; the shock sacking of Mauger; the annual strong run in the final third of the season which coincided with the arrival of Matt Connor. And that’s just a brief precis! The bottom line is that Tigers qualified comfortably enough in the end seven points clear of fifth-place Bath and 14 points ahead of sixthplace Harlequins. Early on there were useful wins in the league over Gloucester, Quins and Saints but they were inconsistent and there was that 43-0 home defeat against Glasgow in Europe. The Mauger appointment wasn’t universally welcomed but he seemed to be doing a decent job when he got the chop. All very strange. STAND-OUTS: For attacking brilliance Tonga’s exciting full-back Telusa Veainu has been their main threat but others have excelled in adversity. Young prop Ellis Genge has put in a series of dynamic performances that auger well, Dom Barrow is emerging as a lock of substance and Freddie Burns has enjoyed a hugely influential finish to the season and again looks like an England player although Eddie Jones has yet to look kindly on him STRENGTHS: Tigers have started playing with all their old doggedness again and that is probably typified by a diehard back row where turnover king Brendon O’Connor, Mike Williams and Lachlan McCaffrey contest every ball. When Dan Cole is playing the front row are solid and Veainu, JP Pietersen, Peter Betham and Adam Thompstone can pose a real threat out wide. WEAKNESSES: The days of Tigers’ packs totally dominating the setpiece have gone while at times their defence has been unrecognizable from the brick walls they used to erect across Welford Road. Tigers conceded 48 tries in the regular season and that piles extra pressure on the offence. COACH’S CORNER: It’s been a game of musical chairs all season and Matt O’Connor is currently the man in the hot seat. He is well versed in Tigers’ ways and seems to have steadied a ship that was in any case righting itself. MIRACLE MAN: Tigers sans Manu Tuilagi are short of a little stardust but there is that man Veainu, left, to light things up. Genge is another who can produce the unusual. PREDICTION: Will probably go down, with all guns blazing, at Wasps.