Leicester Tigers back-rower Guy Thompson says his side must ‘turn up and show what we’re about’ as they return to Welford Road for Round 2 of the Gallagher Premiership this weekend.

Thompson started at No8 in the opening round of league action away to Worcester, and admitted to being ‘bitterly disappointed’ with the performance.

“We’d had a good week of training, a really long pre-season to put things in place, and we were just really disappointed that we didn’t fire any shots,” he said.

“We were slightly off our game, and in the Premiership if you’re slightly off by five or 10 per cent then you’re going to get beaten by anyone.

“Credit to Worcester, they were outstanding on the day and they brought an attitude that we didn’t. On reflection, we’ve come away from the game bitterly disappointed.

“After the game was one of the quietest changing rooms [I’ve been in] as we knew we let an opportunity slip simply because we didn’t turn up to the best of our ability.”

Flash forward a week, and Tigers host reigning league and European champions Saracens in the first home game of the campaign this Sunday (October 27, 3.00pm).

While Tigers are still shorn of their England contingent, the Londoners are the only Premiership side with more players away at the Rugby World Cup – waiting on 11 men still to return – though Thompson explained that shouldn’t be a factor this weekend.

“Saracens are an outstanding side, and have been the benchmark of English rugby over the last couple of years,” he continued.

“They had a tough result last week against Northampton, but they’ll look ahead to us and it’ll be a completely different game this weekend.

“We just need to focus on ourselves and make sure that when we go into this game, we actually fire some shots and play how we want to play at home, imprint ourselves on the game rather than being reactive like we were against Worcester.

“We set out at the start of the year that we want to turn Welford Road into a fortress again, and to have that opportunity this weekend after what was a poor result last time out is something the boys are really excited about.”

Secure your place for the return to Welford Road online, over the phone on 0116 319 8888 (option 2) or in person at the ground.

Supporters are encouraged to BUY EARLY to secure the best-priced match tickets.