TIGERS ARE GIVEN WIGGLE ROOM

RICHARD WIGGLESWORTH will start for Leicester against his former club, ahead of Ben Youngs, at the grand old age of 39.

Boss Steve Borthwick sprung a surprise by relegating England’s most-capped player to the bench and giving the No.9 shirt instead to his player-coach (right).

No explanation was offered but it is possible the emotion of the past week – with Ben losing his sister-in-law Tiff to cancer shortly before playing in the semi-final – has taken a toll.

For Tigers it is the chance to win an 11th title but their first since Borthwick took over a club on its knees two years ago.

Dan Cole, one of only a couple of Leicester players old enough to remember the good times, was asked to pinpoint the lowest ebb in Tigers’ fall. “Sitting in the home changing room on a Friday night in March 2019 after losing to Northampton,” he replied.

Tigers were second bottom, unable to buy a win and in grave danger of relegation for the first time in their proud history.

“We’d thrown everything at it and we’d lost,” said Cole. “We sat there and thought, ‘We’re stuffed’.

“Everyone in the room had tried as hard as they could and we still couldn’t get a result.” It all came down to the clash of the bottom two a month later when Leicester found a way to beat Newcastle and send them down instead.

“That season taught us how tough it is to win one game and how fortunate we are to play in a side that finds a way to win, week in, week out,” added Cole. “I appreciate the success more now.”