WIGG: TOP-TWO SLOT IS GONE
RICHARD WIGGLESWORTH watched his Leicester Tigers side hit Bristol for six tries – but then wrote off their chances of a top-two finish.
Tigers extended their winning run to five games while halting Bristol’s four-match streak to put a dent in their top-four hopes.
But the Leicester interim boss reckons second-placed Sale have nailed down a home semi-final and his team can’t catch them with two games left.
Sharks have clashes with Bristol,
Gloucester and Newcastle to come while Leicester have home games with Exeter and London Irish.
And Wigglesworth (below) fears the gap – three points – is too big.
He said: “I don’t see a top-two finish being an option. I had a look last week at the fixtures they have got and they don’t need many points to finish second.
“But we know if we keep on winning the next game we will end up in the top four.”
Handre Pollard and Argentine hooker Julian Montoya led the charge with the South African scoring 19 points and the Puma adding two tries. Tigers were 15-10 ahead at the break before Bristol led after Gabriel Ibitoye pounced on a loose ball near the home line.
But Montoya scored twice from driving lineouts to secure the bonus point and Pollard scored when he collected his own chip.
Wigglesworth benched all of his England players involved in Dublin last week, barring Anthony Watson, with Chris Ashton injured.
But his side barely missed a beat with Pollard steering the ship.
“He has been good for weeks. Not just what he does on a Saturday, it is what he does in the week here,” Wigglesworth added. “The senior players are really driving the environment, they are grabbing it so that makes the week go smoother.”
Bears boss Pat Lam said: “It makes finishing in the top four difficult. It is still going to go down to the wire, obviously now we can only get to 56 points. With three games to go we are probably going to have to get maximum points.”
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