With no match this weekend, Croft and his team-mates trained as normal at the beginning of the week before being given some down time prior to the start of what will be a hugely important few days in the lead up to the Twickenham clash with the Ospreys.
“It was obviously a massive disappointment to lose on Saturday,” says Croft. “All credit to Wasps, they took their chances and they deservedly won the game. We still did a lot of good things in the game and we were fighting until the very end, though. We made a lot of mistakes but when we had the ball in hand going forward we looked very dangerous and we are starting to go forward as a team. We’ve got plenty of preparation time now until the final and we’ll be making sure we’re organised and fully prepared for a massive game.”
Croft, who made his England debut during this season’s RBS 6 Nations Championship, is aware of the challenge Tigers face from an-inform Ospreys side, but the 22-year-old insists everyone will be focusing on getting their own performance right.
“Ospreys are looking very sharp,” says Croft. “They showed in their semi-final against Saracens that they are a very dangerous team and we’ll have to be on our mettle to beat them. The boys tend to react well to disappointment, though, and we’re determined to put things right in the next game. It’s obviously better to go into the final on the back of a win but that won’t affect us when it comes to the match at Twickenham.
“It’s going to be a massive occasion. We’ve just got to focus on our jobs and use the atmosphere to repeat the kind of performances we showed against Saracens in the Premiership and against Wasps in the semi-final.”
Tickets for the EDF Energy Cup Final against the Ospreys at Twickenham on Saturday, April 12 went on general sale at 8.30am this Wednesday (April 2).
Tickets are available direct from the Welford Road ticket office, by calling 08701 28 34 30 or by clicking here.
Places are also still available on the Tigers Travel Club coach package, with prices set at £18 for members or season ticket holders and £21 for non-members. Coaches will leave Welford Road at 9am for a 2.30pm kick-off.
