Matt O’Connor was delighted to see centre Matt Toomua back in a Leicester Tigers shirt during Friday’s pre-season fixture against Benetton Treviso.

Australia international Toomua played the whole of the second half in the seven-try win over Treviso in his first match since injuring knee ligaments in only his second game for the club back in October 2016.

“It was great to get him back out there,” said O’Connor as Tigers came through to a 47-12 in the second outing of the pre-season programme.

“He certainly got tested at stages, his knee is fine, he came through well. He is a big contributor within the camp and it’s good to see him back on the field.”

Logovi’i Mulipola and Tom Brady also came safely through their first run-put after injury, with prop Mulipola among the try-scorers against the Italian visitors.

“It was another good opportunity for gametime and we were pretty accurate in possession,” said O’Connor. “It was a bit disappointing in defence at times and a bit soft round the collisions defensively, but we have a bit of time to fix that.

“The effort was good and we scored when we created opportunities and played in the right areas.”

Tigers have a final pre-season fixture, against the Ospreys, this Friday (7.45pm), ahead of the Aviva Premiership season-opener against Bath at Welford Road on Sunday, September 3.

Tickets for Friday are available now, with prices from £12 adults and £5 juniors. This game is included in season tickets.

Match tickets are also on general sale now for the Bath match in Round 1 of the league season. Book in person at Welford Road or phone 0116 319 8888 (option 2)(Monday-Saturday 9.00am-5.00pm and throughout the evening on Friday, including for an hour after the final whistle.