Richard Cockerill praised "a squad effort" for two wins in the opening two rounds of the LV= Cup, including Sunday's bonus-point victory over Sale Sharks at Welford Road.
A young line-up included a forward pack with an average age of less than 21 but they came from 13-3 down at half-time against Sale to turn the tables in the second half on the way to a 29-13 victory.
“Credit to the lads,” said director of rugby Cockerill. “They defended really well, they took their tries really well and the attitude was great.
“I thought it was a really good performance from the whole squad to come back from 13-3 down and to go on and win with the bonus point.
“We were a bit outmuscled in the first half and struggled at times at the set-piece with a very young pack. But at half-time it was all about simple messages. We were still in the game but we needed a bit more parity at the set-piece and we wanted to cut down the easy penalties.
“The players managed it pretty well all round and showed a great attitude.
“To be 10 points down at half-time and have 26 unanswered points in the second half was brilliant for us.
“Richard Blaze and Geordan Murphy have coached them again this week with Phil Blake and it’s great for them to see the rewards for that.”
Miles Benjamin scored two tries inside three second-half minutes, with additional scores from Harry Thacker and Matt Smith, as Tigers made it nine points from two games to top the pool at the halfway stage of the LV= Cup campaign.
“Momentum is important,” said Cockerill. “We had a really poor performance at Scarlets in Europe but since then we’ve had a really good win at London Irish, a big night against the Barbarians and today a win with a team that was even younger than the one that went out at Irish.
“Credit to the young lads, they fronted up and did exactly what we wanted from them.
“Now we come back in tomorrow on the back of those two wins and we work towards Saracens in the Aviva Premiership at the weekend. We’ve had two really good wins from the whole squad which is good for everyone.
“If you can develop lads, give them opportunities and if you can win at the same time that is key. If you want those guys in the first team in the league now you know what they can do at this level.”
A young line-up included a forward pack with an average age of less than 21 but they came from 13-3 down at half-time against Sale to turn the tables in the second half on the way to a 29-13 victory.
“Credit to the lads,” said director of rugby Cockerill. “They defended really well, they took their tries really well and the attitude was great.
“I thought it was a really good performance from the whole squad to come back from 13-3 down and to go on and win with the bonus point.
“We were a bit outmuscled in the first half and struggled at times at the set-piece with a very young pack. But at half-time it was all about simple messages. We were still in the game but we needed a bit more parity at the set-piece and we wanted to cut down the easy penalties.
“The players managed it pretty well all round and showed a great attitude.
“To be 10 points down at half-time and have 26 unanswered points in the second half was brilliant for us.
“Richard Blaze and Geordan Murphy have coached them again this week with Phil Blake and it’s great for them to see the rewards for that.”
Miles Benjamin scored two tries inside three second-half minutes, with additional scores from Harry Thacker and Matt Smith, as Tigers made it nine points from two games to top the pool at the halfway stage of the LV= Cup campaign.
“Momentum is important,” said Cockerill. “We had a really poor performance at Scarlets in Europe but since then we’ve had a really good win at London Irish, a big night against the Barbarians and today a win with a team that was even younger than the one that went out at Irish.
“Credit to the young lads, they fronted up and did exactly what we wanted from them.
“Now we come back in tomorrow on the back of those two wins and we work towards Saracens in the Aviva Premiership at the weekend. We’ve had two really good wins from the whole squad which is good for everyone.
“If you can develop lads, give them opportunities and if you can win at the same time that is key. If you want those guys in the first team in the league now you know what they can do at this level.”
