Back in October the Tigers were in 11th place in the Aviva Premiership league table with just one win – against the bottom-of-the-table team – in the opening six rounds of competition.
And the mood didn’t appear much better either with most of the World Cup contingent, as Italy and Samoa headed home early, and England endured an unhappy campaign played out almost as much in the media as it had been on the pitch.
We didn’t know it then, but the worst of the season was already over at Welford Road.
The feelings of anxiety and desperation were replaced over coming weeks by hope, then expectation.
A win away to Sale is notable in any season, but even more so in the 2011/12 circumstances, and victory at Kingsholm is hard-earned too. Welford Road became a fortress once more and the points started to rack up.
An amazing run of winning form in the second half of the season, topped off by away wins at two of our closest rivals and a home win over the old foes of Bath, finally secured a home semi-final, where last season’s champions were toppled.
It has been breathless stuff and now we come to a final between the two most energetic and dynamic teams in the Aviva Premiership. Hold on to your hats.
