Needing a win to stay in the hunt for qualification for the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup, Tigers came from 10-6 down at half-time to celebrate a 32-18 victory with tries from Alesana Tuilagi, Ben Youngs and Steve Mafi plus 17 points from fly-half Toby Flood.
“We just did everything pretty well,” said director of rugby Cockerill.
“I thought we started the game well and we took control of the scoreboard. Then they scored and put us under pressure, and the tide turned against us a bit.
“But we were resilient and we came out of it.
“We were four points down at half-time after playing into the wind and we talked about keeping our composure and our shape. We wanted to put them under pressure in their half, play in the right areas and then at some stage you get your opportunities, and that is what we did.”
Tigers have now won three successive away games in all competitions – at London Irish, Exeter Chiefs and now the Scarlets – and sit top of the Aviva Premiership table and second in Heineken Cup Pool 5.
“Our away form has not been particularly good but we’ve started to turn a corner,” said Cockerill.
“We had to win today, we knew we were out if we lost here. It was fantastic that the boys fronted up and came through in the end.”
Tigers are now level on 17 points with Pool 5 leaders Perpignan and two ahead of the Scarlets with one fixture remaining. Benetton Treviso are the visitors to Welford Road on Sunday (1pm) while Perpignan host the Scarlets.
“We’ve got another hard game to come and the pool is still there to be settled,” said Cockerill.
“The Heineken Cup is a great competition, everyone wants to be in there playing against the best.”
Book your tickets for Tigers versus Treviso now. Phone the Tigers ticket hotline on 0844 856 1880, call in at the Welford Road or book online.
