Plenty to celebrate in best-ever season start

AS predicted last week, the Tigers completed a bonus point victory over the old rivals Bath, but they certainly made hard work of it!

After the remarkable performance the week before away at Northampton, there was always the danger of a drop off, and while there was absolutely no diminution of effort from the Tigers team on Friday night, their game just didn’t quite gel.

A period of much-needed rest and reset with the Premiership Cup coming up could well prove to be very good timing for the squad.

However, let’s not lose sight of the fact that this was a bonus point win against one of Tigers’ bitter rivals and that it marks the best-ever start to the season by the club.

Eight wins from eight in such a competitive league is an almost unbelievable achievement and beats the mark set by Leicester in the first ever league season, in 1987.

Even in a less outstanding performance there was plenty to celebrate in the Tigers ranks.

A virtually faultless lineout and another try for the returning Nic Dolly (it’s worth reiterating that he was Leicester’s fourth choice at the start of the season, now he’s in the England squad) and George Ford continues to pull the strings, putting the team where they need to be like a master conductor.

Dan Kelly is becoming a huge threat with his dancing feet, vision and rock solid defence, and he will be unlucky not to return to the England squad sooner rather than later after his elevation in the summer.

Matt Scott, his outside centre partner apparently asked Borthwick to be allowed to play after being released by Scotland in midweek and got a well deserved try as a reward.

Official man of the match was deservedly Tommy Reffell, who’s defensive work and ability over the ball marks him out as Salvi or even Back-like.

While not ideal for Reffell, Leicester will quietly hope that Wales continue to ignore his obvious quality and leave him to prosper at Leicester rather than pressurising him to move to a Welsh region.

Any win against Bath will delight Tigers’ supporters of a certain vintage and, in spite of not being at their best, the way in which the fourth try was eked out as the clock ran out speaks volumes for the focus of the squad and the way in which they keep managing to get things done.

The bonus point was important because, unless Bath find some rugby intelligence sharpish, all of Leicester’s rivals will do the same.