Leicester Tigers’ 17-3 defeat on Saturday away at Bristol Bears, put a full-stop on the first half of the season. With 11 rounds now completed, we can start to look back and review the first half and assess how the Borthwick revolution is progressing, and what this can mean for the rest of the season.
As a starting position, we should look at the results. After 11 rounds, Leicester have actually taken to the field on 9 occasions, with one Covid win and one Covid defeat, against both Northampton Saints and Newcastle Falcons respectively. With this in mind, they have 5 victories and 6 defeats to their name, with a points tally of 24, with 2 bonus points achieved, meaning they start the 2nd half of the season in 9th position, shared with Bath. Given Tigers only achieved 29 points in the whole of last season, they are on course to go past that figure soon enough. The next target will be to beat the 2018-2019’s total of 41 points. Certainly, results and points gained indicates progress on previous years, reflecting the improvements that have been made so far. It should also be noted that their achievements so far have come with their England trio of Ellis Genge, Ben Youngs and George Ford only featuring in one game, the memorable victory against Bath at Welford Road. With the trio back for 8 of the last 11 games, targeting to win the majority of those remaining fixtures would be one that the management team I am sure are looking at, and one that is more than possible.
The 2 cancellations has meant that the team have not been able to judge themselves against every opponent in the league to get a full gauge of where they are as a team. That being said, the evidence produced so far suggests a side who are able to compete for 80 minutes against all opponents. Again, that has not been something that has been said too often of Tigers teams over the last couple of seasons. Given they sit just 5 points behind Newcastle in 6th position, top 6 aspirations are a realistic target to aim for in the next 11 games, especially with the return of their International trio. Of their 4 actual victories so far, the Tigers have been good value for their wins, with Gloucester and Worcester swatted aside with bonus points achieved in both. The team came back from a horrific first 20 minutes against Bath, where they trailed by 14 points, to go on to win the game 36-31. Tigers also overcame the difficulty of two red cards at home to Wasps, of star back-row forwards Jasper Wiese and Hanro Liebenberg, to again go on to win the game, in a quite simply awesome display of forward power. The defeats, whilst disappointing have all been games where the opposition had to work hard for their wins. Arguably the only defeat where Tigers were truly outclassed was in the home game to Exeter, where the visiting team demonstrated all their nous and skill which has took them to domestic and European glory. The defeats to London Irish away and Sale at home were the two games, that Tigers can be most disappointed by, where at least a losing bonus point was achievable were it not for their own errors. A more clinical and experienced squad would have been able to see both out for at least a point you would feel, rather than letting them slip through their fingers. Certainly a target for the second half of the season would be to ensure obtaining greater numbers of bonus points in both victory and defeat, with the team currently having the second lowest in the league so far. Overall, I suspect Tigers would feel content with their points tally so far, despite knowing they have left a few points out there on occasion.
The first 11 games have seen a number of players make their first appearances for the club or build on their brief appearances at the end of last season after the restart. Of these, it would appear that recent recruitment has been a vast improvement on previous years, with Jasper Wiese, Cyle Brink, Julian Montoya and Luan De Bruin adding welcome bulk and firepower to a forward pack that is now threatening to be the best in the league. In the backline, Matias Moroni, Richard Wigglesworth and Nemani Ndolo have all settled into their roles and look excellent additions. Whilst not possibly star signings, however, Guy Porter and Zack Henry have both featured well and shown they can compete at this level and have added welcome depth to the squad. Alongside the new additions, the flock of promising youngsters that Tigers are developing are also beginning to show their potential, with Freddie Steward, Tommy Reffell, Jack Van Poortvliet and Joe Heyes regularly featuring from the start or off the bench. George Martin, Cam Henderson and Dan Kelly have featured less often but have looked at home with each appearance, with Martin going on to be called up to the England 6 Nations squad. As Borthwick gets to know more about his squad week by week, it is becoming more apparent that there is a talented group of players coming together, that will only get better as they spend more time playing alongside each other and strengthening those combinations. Arguably in some positions, squad depth is as good as it has been for several years, which is fantastic to see.
What has been clear as we hit the halfway stage, is that Tigers have developed a real identity and game plan as to how they want to play the game. Hardworking, tough in defence and real power up front have been the basis of the play seen so far. As mentioned, the forward pack is really turning into something to be feared, with the numerous rolling mauls leading to tries, have seen Tigers rolling back the years on several occasions. So clinical are they, that it is almost a surprise that they do not come away with 5 points each time they kick to the corner - not something that can be said for several years at Tigers. The improvement in the performances from last season is as clear as day, with the team improving with every week. Whilst the forward play has been exceptional, the attacking and interchange amongst the backline is still a work in progress, and to be expected given the other priorities in the coaching in-tray. The team does have a tendency to kick when better options are available or if they have run out of ideas. That being said, over the course of the first half of the season, there has been an improvement in their work, however the team are still a way off having a varied attack that can threaten teams if the forwards are thwarted. Certainly the recent defeat to Bristol did highlight this aspect in their play. Absences through Internationals and injury to key members has not helped either. This will be something that both the coaching team and the players will be looking to work on and improve as they look to progress with the revolution. With the forwards providing such a strong and dominant platform, George Ford will be licking his lips to conduct his orchestra of attacking talent, to exploit opposition weaknesses. Leicester supporters will be itching to see what he can do upon his return.
So as we go into the second half of the season, supporters have a right to feel positive about what has been achieved so far, with clearly more to come. Improvements can be seen right across the board with results and performances both stronger than the previous season. New signings have bedded in well, a strong core of young talent is being formed, with the glut of Academy graduates leading the way, creating a squad depth suggesting a blossoming future over the next few seasons. Whilst there is plenty still to work on, Tigers are not a team that many will want to face, especially when their pack of forwards hit top gear. Whilst a mid-table finish would be more than acceptable given their starting point was so low, there are plenty of reasons to think that a top 6 finish or even higher could still be possible. Slowly but surely, the good times are coming back to Welford Road. All to play for as we head into the second half of the season!