Matt O’Connor praised the contribution of newcomers Gareth Owen and Dan Tuohy as Leicester Tigers won at London Irish on Saturday.
Welsh centre Owen had to wait for his debut after joining Tigers from the Scarlets in the summer, while second-rower Tuohy only arrived on loan from Bristol last week.
“We made a few changes for the game at Irish and there were some new combinations in there,” said head coach O’Connor after Tigers made it four wins in a row in the Aviva Premiership before launching their European Cup campaign next weekend.
“We would have liked to see Gareth play earlier, but he’s had a couple of niggling injuries,” said O’Connor. “He’s a good footballer and can play at 12 or 13. We think he’ll be very good for us.
“Dan was good too, his contribution for a guy new to the environment this week was phenomenal all week. He will to us in this period.”
O’Connor was also happy to see Pat Cilliers and George McGuigan back on the field after injury, while Valentino Mapapalangi started his first game for the club.
“It was important for guys like Cilliers, McGuigan and Mapapalangi to get minutes on the pitch as we go into the next few weeks. Hopefully that puts us in a good place.”
