Seru Rabeni came through a "pressure" game in the win over Cardiff Blues on Saturday with his first Heineken Cup try of the season, a bottle of champagne as winner of the Tackle of the Match award and, just as importantly, a full 80 minutes under his belt.
The Fijian started his second successive match and saw plenty of the action, including a 31st-minute try as Tigers maintained their push for a Heineken Cup quarter-final place with a 34-0 victory over the Blues.
"It was frustrating last week with the defeat at Newcastle because we all know we can play so much better than that. But against Cardiff we played like a team that really wanted it and it was a very pleasing performance," Rabeni said.
"We went out to stamp our authority on the game early on, we put a few phases together, we got some good forward possession and it was great for us to get a couple of early tries.There was good build-up from the forwards to set up a platform and the backs finished the chances that we had. It was very, very pleasing to get that bonus point and the win."
After scoring his first try since the Guinness Premiership draw against Gloucester in mid-September, Rabeni added: "It was a pressure game for me after being out of the team for a while. The boys who have played have been doing a good job and it was very hard to get a chance again, so it was a pressure game for me to get selected in front of those people. I think I had to play a big game to justify that selection. I am not saying I have done that, but it was an important stepping stone towards playing the best I can and helping the team in the Heineken Cup competition."
The Fijian started his second successive match and saw plenty of the action, including a 31st-minute try as Tigers maintained their push for a Heineken Cup quarter-final place with a 34-0 victory over the Blues.
"It was frustrating last week with the defeat at Newcastle because we all know we can play so much better than that. But against Cardiff we played like a team that really wanted it and it was a very pleasing performance," Rabeni said.
"We went out to stamp our authority on the game early on, we put a few phases together, we got some good forward possession and it was great for us to get a couple of early tries.There was good build-up from the forwards to set up a platform and the backs finished the chances that we had. It was very, very pleasing to get that bonus point and the win."
After scoring his first try since the Guinness Premiership draw against Gloucester in mid-September, Rabeni added: "It was a pressure game for me after being out of the team for a while. The boys who have played have been doing a good job and it was very hard to get a chance again, so it was a pressure game for me to get selected in front of those people. I think I had to play a big game to justify that selection. I am not saying I have done that, but it was an important stepping stone towards playing the best I can and helping the team in the Heineken Cup competition."
