Sam Aspland-Robinson says the Leicester Tigers squad have taken a huge mental boost from last weekend’s ‘much-needed’ win at Newcastle.

The development wing came on in place of Gareth Owen for the closing stages of the Gallagher Premiership clash, and was part of a huge defensive effort as the Falcons battered the visitors’ line with the clock in the red.

“Being on the bench for most of the game, I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous in a game before,” the 22-year-old admitted.

“[The game] was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but it was nice to come on and get the win.

“There was so much adrenaline going through in that last defensive set, and I was just trying to stay in the defensive system and not be the guy that messes up, but the boys came through.”

And with an extra week’s preparation ahead of Round 20’s home match against Bristol Bears, Aspland-Robinson explained that the playing squad are savouring the winning feeling while they knuckle down in preparation for the league run-in.

“A win definitely brings the confidence back out in the boys,” he said.

“There’s a lot more laughter and people are just enjoying themselves that bit more. The environment is really good.

“We’ve known that we’ve had a performance like that in us, but it’s just taken a while to get it out of the team and put it on the pitch.”

The former England Under-20s man also pointed out the week ‘off’ has both pros and cons for the club, coming in the middle of a league run-in that sees six Premiership rounds split across nine weekends.

He added: “It’d be nice to have a game [this weekend] to help build that confidence, but it also gives us more time to put some of our systems in place.

“It’s nice to keep building with Mike [Ford] and I think he’s doing a really good job of working with Geordan in putting everyone on the same page.

“There’s definitely excitement now that the boys know what we can put down on the pitch.”