Leicester Tigers prop James Whitcombe and academy coach Neil Fowkes have reacted to Tigers’ 21-13 win over Georgia Black Lion at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
A young Tigers team put in a dogged defensive performance, but mixed in plenty of quality as well as they overcame what was an experienc;ed Georgian outfit.
“It was something new for us against the Georgian pack,” Whitcombe said.
“They’re renowned for scrummaging so it’s a great opportunity for the lads to put their best foot forwards and they really stuck at it.
“We got a bit of pay towards the back end of the game but I think, on the whole, we can take a lot of confidence out of that especially against the Georgian pack. Lots of learnings and we’ll take those going forward.
“A lot of the lads came through the academy so have got that DNA in them that’s been brought through. This week they’ve really ripped into training. There’s a few boys that hadn’t yet played for Tigers so I expected nothing less this evening. We always say it doesn’t matter if it’s the first team, the academy; whatever level, we expect a physical performance and I thought we provided that for most of the game so I’m very proud of that.”
Fowkes added: “The lads were superb tonight. That was a very good Black Lions side, they’ve been playing European cup rugby, nine internationals in their side and we had to fight for everything.”
“We spoke about ‘playing our way’; we had to be quick, we had to play low, we had to play physical and the way the boys went about their business, especially around the breakdown, especially around the tackle area, they were superb.
“They work so hard these boys and often people don’t get to see. They’re in the gym early morning, they’re lifting their weights, they’re doing their skills often before the sun comes up. They then go out, some to university, some to different things, then go to their loan clubs in the evening and play on a Saturday. They work hard in the dark. It’s just so pleasing that they get the chance to go out there, so well supported by the first team coaches to allow us to have the training time together on Tuesday, on Thursday and to be able to come out here and put that on. "
