Everyone loves to see their team hold up a cup and will casually agree that there is nothing like the winning feeling.
An acquaintance of The Tig, though, argues the exact opposite is true – there is nothing to match the feeling of defeat.
How we all enjoyed the 2007 Final, with Alesana and Seru on the rampage. How we loved to see new boss Cockers win in 2009 and how we enjoyed coming out on top in a superb final against Sarries a year later.
But there are supporters – and players for sure – who equally remember Twickenham defeat by Sale, being stung by Wasps or shut out by Sarries in the rematch.
Defeat can be like a weeping wound, it takes a long time to go away. The journey home is longer after defeat than in victory, the morning after more empty, the return to work on Monday more difficult.
Perhaps, then, it is the detail of the home defeats early in this season or the disappointing day at Exeter and the early exit in Europe that have provided as much of a motivating force as the triumphs in the LV= Cup and the amazing second half of the Premiership season.
Whatever, The Tig is counting down to Grand Final Day, it should be a cracker.
