Ulster Rugby vs Leicester Tigers

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37 ULSTERRUGBY
TONIGHT’S OPPOSITION
Anything less than victory in last
weekend’s Pool 3 encounter with
the Scarlets, however, would have
spelled an immediate end to hopes
of reaching the knockout stages of
Europe’s elite club competition for
a fourth time in the last five years.
In the event, Tigers ran in six tries
against an injury-hit Scarlets side,
with Tom Youngs scoring two in a
six-minute spell during the second
half to add to scores from Miles
Benjamin, Jordan Crane, Adam
Thompstone and Sam Harrison.
“It’s just what we needed,”
said Director of Rugby Richard
Cockerill, thinking not just in terms
of the points available but also
of the momentum that could be
crucial in the second half of the
season if Tigers are to be in the
shake-up for honours.
The win also secured a
cleansweep on home ground in
Pool 3, following a 25-18 victory
over Ulster in Round 1 and a
25-21 verdict against defending
champions Toulon at Welford Road
in December.
First-half scores from Owen
Williams, Graham Kitchener and
Freddie Burns set the platform
for the opening-round win over
Ulster and the intensity of the
performance in victory over double
European champions Toulon set
the benchmark for the season as
Brad Thorn claimed the only try
alongside 20 points from fly-half
Williams.
Away from home, however,
points have been not been as
forthcoming as Tigers were beaten
15-3 at the Scarlets in October and
23-8 in the Toulon return.
“The whole team had a really
positive mindset to go out and play
against the Scarlets,” Cockerill
added. “We don’t know what will
happen at the end of the pool
stages, but we did what we had
to do on Friday. We have a huge
amount of respect for Ulster and
we need to make sure we are
better again and see where that
takes us.”
While Tigers have struggled for
continuity in the face of lengthy
injury absences to key men
including Manu Tuilagi, Geoff
Parling, Dan Cole, Tom Youngs,
Tom Croft and Logovi’i Mulipola, as
well as club captain Ed Slater, they
have never been too far away from
the battle for semi-final places in
their domestic Aviva Premiership
campaign.
Since ending a run of three
successive defeats from Round
3, there have been just two
Premiership defeats, while a 17-8
victory over high-flying Bath in the
opening game of 2015 provided
the high point so far, with hooker
Youngs providing the all-important
try.
Boss Cockerill knows Tigers will
need to call on all of their abilities
and experience, as well as the
resilience and determination for
which they are well known, as they
approach the business end of
another big season for the club.
The only club to qualify for the European Cup in every year
of English participation, quarter-finalists five times, finalists
five times and back-to-back European champions in
2001 and 2002; there are few clubs able to boast a better
pedigree than the Leicester Tigers.
LeicesterTigers
LeicesterTigers
CLUB STATS
//Location
Leicester
//Founded
1880
//Ground
Welford Road
//Capacity
24,000
//Last Game
Scarlets (H)40-23(W)
Fri 16th January 2015 at 19.45
//Next Game
Northampton Saints (H)
Sat 31st January 2015 at 15.00
//Recent Form
W L W L W
STAFF
// Director of Rugby
Richard Cockerill
//Captain
Ed Slater
CONTACT
Aylestone Road
Leicester
LE2 7TR
England
Tel +44 84 48 56 18 80
Fax +44 11 62 54 17 74
TICKET OFFICE
Tel +44 84 48 56 18 80
LeicesterTigersLTTV
Photograph: Tiger Images