Story Of The Season - Leicester Tigers

In the middle of February the Leicester Tigers were in seventh place in the Aviva Premiership table, it was a worrying position and one that they were not used to. The tenacity and character of the side delivered eight wins in their last nine domestic matches and secured their eleventh consecutive playoff position. It certainly wasn’t the most beautiful of final runs nor was the Semi-Final against Bath however other sides wouldn’t have been able to win 'ugly' for so long and would have finished in seventh or lower. 

When a Club’s history includes 10 domestic titles and 2 European titles the weight of expectation placed on their shoulders is large and it makes it tough to take when things don’t click how they should do. As mentioned in Harlequins' Story Of The Season confidence can be as difficult to find as water in a desert without such high levels of added pressure and expectation. Once again injuries have played a huge part in the Tigers’ campaign; Anthony Allen, Manu Tuilagi, Tom Croft and Geoff Parling have been the most notable absentees for some or almost all of the season. All are experienced men and all bring unique points of difference to the pitch, points that were sorely missed particularly in attack.

That said, Freddie Burns is growing into the 10 shirt, Owen Williams injury was awful to see but the flipped was that allowed Freddie to have sustained game time in which he has begin to establish himself in the Tigers’ way. Owen’s involvement, like the aforementioned Allen and Tuilagi would have made an impact for his distribution and creativity. Ben Youngs is England’s scrum half for a reason and Matthew Tait’s season has been his most robust for a long time however the final piece of the puzzle and the killer moves to break through defensive lines were missing. The man that last year captured the Aviva Premiership for his bruising runs and tries, Niki Geneva, only scored half as many tries  and as a whole invention in attack came at a premium. 

The industry of two Leicester men must be noted they are Jordan Crane and Julian Salvi, between them the pair have made 451 tackles, with Salvi making more than any other man after 22 rounds and a Semi-Final. The front row unit of Mulipola, Youngs and Cole contains experience few others can boast and they have all delivered their duties well. 

The work ethic and application of this Leicester side must not be criticised at all, this squad will be acutely aware of the season that they have had and wishing to get back and right the wrongs as quickly as possible. Salvi’s loss to Exeter alongside Geoff Parling and the retiring Brad Thron will take away a large amount of experience, power and leadership and as such you expect a few more signings to be announced before pre-season starts. It will be the task of Aaron Mauger to bring in some fresh thinking and do a little shaking up at Welford Road... for every side, even one with the history of Leicester, needs to continually evolve in order to improve. 

Key Men - Julian Salvi, Jordan Crane and Tom Youngs

Most Impressive Result - Their Derby Day against Wasps at the Ricoh Arena in Round 21 [26 - 21]

Strongest Signings for the 15/15 Season - Securing the heart of their scrum; Tom Youngs, Dan Cole & Marcos Ayerza

Overall Assessment - Extremely tough to take, not one for the memory books but the Tigers’ spirit produced results that other sides wouldn’t have.