Tigers went out of the LV= Cup with a 26-12 defeat by Bath Rugby on Friday, but director of rugby Richard Cockerill believes some of the performances of individuals in the competition will prove vital in the context of the season as a whole.
“We are still in Europe and we’re in a good position in the league but we are entering a massive period with four games during the Six Nations,” said Cockerill.
“We’ve played the cup games with internationals away, the Saxons away and this week without three England Under-20s players, and we’ve also had to rest some guys who have played a lot of rugby already this season because there is a very important period coming up.
“But we’ve given other guys some important game-time and the younger ones have gained experience in the competition and will have learned from it.”
Ed Slater, with his first points for Tigers, and Lucas Amorosino, in his first appearance since November after recovering from a hernia operation, were the Tigers try-scorers in the defeat by Bath.
Though disappointed by a second home defeat in the tournament, Cockerill said there were positives to take as he looked at the big picture of the rest of the season.
“In the last few weeks, we’ve had Boris Stankovich back and Ben Woods back, and that is really good for us. Dan Hipkiss got another 80 minutes, guys like Ed Slater, Jeremy Staunton, Sam Harrison and Horacio Agulla got game-time, Lucas Amorosino looked sharp and the younger guys came in and fronted up. It was good to see young Camilo (Parilli-Ocampo) and Fraser (Balmain) in the front row and come through it.
“We need a contribution from every single member of the squad in a long season. We need to know they are up to it when the opportunity comes along and you need competition for places too. That has always been important here with internationals coming in and out during parts of the season.
“Now we’re into four massive games in the Aviva Premiership, this is a key period and we need to go out and get as many points as we possibly can.”
Prop Stankovich and scrum-half James Grindal were late withdrawals from the team against Bath, but Cockerill said both were precautionary. “We didn’t want to risk them with very important games coming up,” he said. “Matt Smith went off in the second half and that is a worry, though hopefully we get Billy Twelvetrees and Manu Tuilagi back in one piece from the Saxons and we can have a good week in preparation for Leeds.”
