There were some strong performances in Round One, notably from the likes of Sale, Saracens and Northampton. And, while we were made to wait, Tigers took five points from the opening game to hit the ground running.
Warriors are always, always a tough nut to crack. It seems from The Tig's viewing position that, no matter where they are in the Premiership table, no matter whether they are in good form or struggling, they are always a test.
Even in victory it seems Tigers are never fully able to pull away from them. Look at Sunday, at 25-3 up, you'd think it's game over. The team must have thought so too, and in the next 20 minutes Warriors scored two nicely-taken tries and cut the gap to 10 points while conitnuing to defend strongly too.
Thankfully, as Paul Burke mentioned after the final whistle, there were enough cool heads out there in the sunshine for Tigers to regain composure and we came through with that try from Vereniki Goneva.
There are not many players in the Premiership who would have scored that one.
While The Tig was among those in the crowd shouting at him to “Run straight!” our Fijian wing knew best, running laterally but strongly before darting towards the line and having the strength and the confidence to reach out and score. A check of the clock showed just six seconds to spare too.
Cockers is always keen to say that every point counts, every one on the board has the same value as any other. When push comes to shove, you'd think the extra one against Worcester will play a part.
We all know Tigers can play better. But it’s Round One, against tricky opponents, it’s five points on the board, job done. It’s a starting point, now let’s see where the next eight months take us.
