TIGERS HAND OUT MAULING
ELLIS GENGE warned that Leicester are only just getting started after his first game as club captain broughttigers’ best league win in years. England’s biggest club responded to the return of fans towelford Road by shocking Exeter with a five-try beating.
Roared on by a 17,333 crowd, Genge made sure his players kept their end of the bargain by bossing opponents who were twice champions in the past five seasons.
He said: “We have to iron out a few creases, we have to eradicate the mistakes if we are serious about getting better.
“But we know we can play so much better – this side has amazing growth if we can stop making silly mistakes.”
This was the Leicester the rest of the league feared in Steve Borthwick’s second full season, every bit as abrasive as they were towards the end of last term but smarter.
Exeter had won the last seven meetings between the clubs dating back to
2017 and had reached the last six Premiership finals.
Yet they were swatted aside by Tigers.
George Ford, returning to action after being given the summer off by
England, set the tone.
He worked Chiefs’ defence every which way with the variety of his game and ability to pick the right pass and each hole he made his teammates were on hand to pour through.
“George to me controlled that game for large parts of it,” said
Borthwick. “It was great to see him back fit and performing as well as that.”
This was Tigers as we
have not seen them since their best years, matching brawn with brain in equal measure. There was teamwork of the highest order in Freddie Steward’s early try and magic from Nemani Nadolo and Ben Youngs in their contribution to Harry Potter’s score.
Plus power and cohesion from the forwards to drive Nic Dolly twice from lineouts after Steward had
set up a third for Matt
Scott and the maturity to stay patient and work opportunities rather than force them.
Ford was central to all of that and Borthwick has no doubt he has benefited from time away.
“You can see by the way he played, the sharpness he had in his game,” he said. “He controlled that game brilliantly.
“I watch him on the training field and he is sharp. I think he is only going to get better and better.”