Wounded Tigers will roar back says Kay

BEN KAY admits that Leicester have hit rock bottom but says the Tigers have not written off the season.

Former England forward Kay, who is now on the Leicester board, believes the humiliating 43-0 home Champions Cup defeat by Glasgow on Saturday underlined the scale of the problems afflicting English rugby’s proudest club.

“It’s not easy watching. That was probably the

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lowest point I can remember in recent history. They didn’t fire a shot,” said Kay.

Director of rugby Richard Cockerill was sacked three weeks ago and the board have launched an inquiry into the club’s steep decline. But since promoting Aaron Mauger to introduce a more freeflowing style, they have lost three successive games, conceding 99 points while scoring 19.

“The fans see some changes being made and that result and they say, ‘Hang on, you said you got rid of the problem’,” said Kay. “But it’s not instantly going to get better just because one person goes.”

He pointed to the lengthy injury absences of midfield duo Matt Toomua and Manu Tuilagi as one of principal problems.

“Leadership has been lacking in this team, while the game plan that was being played – that perhaps shouldn’t have been played – has taken a big toll on the forwards physically,” said Kay.

“But that result is not acceptable to anyone at Leicester. I don’t think you’ll find any player or coach saying it wasn’t their fault, and the board have to take the responsibility as well. There’s a lot of things that need to get better and they will take time, but certainly the club is not writing off the rest of the season.

“Now all the focus turns on the Anglo-Welsh Cup for the next couple of weeks.”

Ben Kay is part of the Accenture Analysis Team during the RBS 6 Nations. Follow @AccentureRugby or visit accenture-rugby.