Richard Cockerill says the young players called up by Leicester Tigers in recent weeks have brought "a real energy" into the camp entering a vital part of the season.A young side completed the pool stages of the LV= Cup with four wins out of four before Tigers resumed league duties on Friday evening with an 18-15 Aviva Premiership Round 14 victory over Gloucester at Welford Road.
“A relatively young team found a way to win a really big pressure game tonight,” said Cockerill after Freddie Burns had sealed the league win with six successful penalty kicks.
“They can all take credit for that.
“There has been a really good energy in the camp in the last couple of weeks and those younger guys have brought that into the starting team tonight.”
Cockerill gave Premiership debuts to centres George Catchpole and Jack Roberts, while forwards Laurence Pearce and Harry Thacker also had another taste of first-team action.
“Pearce was good, Roberts came off the bench and did really well in his first Premiership game, Catchpole had a decent game in his Premiership debut, Thacker had only the last four minutes on the pitch but he came on and made his tackles, got over the ball, talked in defence, that was an important period in a high-pressure match.
“That is all good for us. They’ve had that experience now – and they want more, which is great for us.
“George Catchpole has earned the right to play in that team. He had a few niggling injuries early in the season but I think he has been a breath of fresh air in the last couple of weeks and he deserved to start. He joined us as a kid, got into the academy and his dream was to play for the first team at Welford Road and tonight he was living that dream.
“We’ve got another academy product out on the field and we hope he goes from strength to strength, along with all those young players.”
At the same time as Tigers were claiming four Aviva Premiership points on Friday, three of their Academy products shared in a 61-0 win for England Under-20s against Italy. Will Owen and debutant Jake Farnworth were among he try-scorers, while Charlie Beckett completed the trio.
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Young guns bring 'real energy' to the squad
16 February 2015 07:00

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