The tighthead prop, making his first appearance of the season after returning from the World Cup, latched on to a pass from international colleague Toby Flood and raced in from 20 metres to score and stretch Tigers’ advantage in the home win over LV= Cup holders Gloucester. It was his first try for the club since a victory at Bristol in March 2009.
“Toby took it up to the line and I think the defence were looking outside me and probably didn’t expect me there,” Cole said. “But I’ll take it!”
Manu Tuilagi, Tom Youngs and Horacio Agulla scored the other tries to secure a first home win of the season.
“It was a good performance and there’s something to work on and to build on,” said Cole.
Cole started all five of England’s matches at the World Cup in New Zealand and said the quick turnaround on the return to club duty would help the international players overcome any disappointment.
“The best way to get over the frustration is to have something else to focus on,” Cole said. “We came back last week, I asked for a play-sheet and had a look at the team’s video to see what to work on. You focus on that and it helps you to move on.
“We took the game to Gloucester and ended up with a four-try victory. It wasn’t perfect but it’s a step forward. It’s a start and now we can work on the Aviva Premiership.
“We’ve not had a very good start but we need to turn it around and we need to be winning games.”
