Leicester Tigers will have to "dust themselves off" after defeat at Saracens with just three games remaining in the race for a place in the Aviva Premiership semi-finals.Tigers led 6-0 at Allianz Park on Saturday before conceding three tries in a 10-minute spell either side of half-time as Saracens claimed a 22-6 victory in Round 19 of the Premiership season.
The defeat allowed Saracens to leap into second place in the table, with Tigers dropping a place to fifth after Exeter’s win over leaders Northampton on Sunday.
Director of rugby Richard Cockerill said: “We started pretty well and we did some good things, but our discipline just before half-time really hurt us, losing Tom Youngs to a yellow card and conceding a try at that point.
“Before then it was pretty even. But Saracens squeeze you and they took their tries very well.
“We had opportunities in the second half to get back into the game but we couldn’t manage to do it.
“Now we’ll dust ourselves off and we have London Welsh, Wasps away and then Northampton Saints to come and we’re still battling for the top four.”
Assessing the performance at the Allianz, Cockerill added: “Sarrieswill put pressure on sides, we know that. If you make errors and give them field position they can punish you, and they did that. It was not all about our errors, they are a good side and they took their opportunities well.
“At half-time the momentum had swung their way but we were still in the game. But the start of the second half was very costly. They scored early and then got another one and your control goes."
Tigers did have their chances with Freddie Burns bundled into touch as he reached the tryline, Logovi'i Mulipola being denied by referee Matthew Carley as forced his way over the line and Vereniki Goneva fractions short in the right-hand corner.
“You cannot let the key moments get away from you, because it costs you," said Cockerill. "In the vital moments we did not manage the pressure as well as we could.”
Tigers also lost prop Marcos Ayerza with a hamstring injury at the start of the second half, though second-rower Graham Kitchener did return from a foot problem to make his appearance since the win at London Irish in the middle of February.
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Tigers count the cost of key moments
13 April 2015 8:35 AM
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