The past two seasons have played host to a decline in the quality of England’s most decorated club. From domestic champions in 2012/13, to two consecutive 3rd place finishes – missing out on the final both times – the Tigers have endured a tough patch by their very high standards. Nine consecutive finals from 2005 to 2013 was a highly impressive feat, and the fixture against the Tigers was always the acid test for every other side in those years, in particular the trip to Welford Road.
The largest sole-purpose club rugby ground in the country further increased its capacity to 26’000 with the construction of the new Caterpillar stand over the summer. Partly due to the success of Leicester City and partly to absurd kick-off times (13:45 this Sunday afternoon being a case in point), the 26’000 capacity has not yet been reached. Nevertheless, with the highest average attendance for over a decade, it’s always a very loud and intimidating atmosphere, and this proved priceless once more at the weekend.
Tigers were 13-27 down at the interval to Gloucester; a side who once frequently tasted success over Leicester. After a rousing team talk by Richard Cockerill, they quickly closed the gap on the scoreboard with tries from Manu Tuilagi and Peter Betham. The fifth try, scored by the departing Niki Goneva, wrapped up a breathtaking comeback.
Adam Thompstone told leicestertigers.com:
“The fans were fantastic on Saturday. They made a great noise, and it gave everyone a huge lift, particularly in those phases when we were up against it.
“When Welford Road is in full voice, there is nowhere quite like it. We will need all of that support against Stade, who are the French champions, and for the rest of the season.”
Indeed, the echo of “Tigers” around the ground in the final minutes led to arguably the best defensive passage of play the Tigers fans have witnessed for the whole season. It culminated in a turnover by man of the match, Betham, which was met with a tumultuous roar from the Welford Road faithful. It was a reward for unwavering support throughout the game, and indeed the season.
As Thompstone alluded to, the men in red, white and green will certainly be in need of huge assistance for the forthcoming Champions Cup quarter final. It has been a long seven year wait for a home quarter final, and the Tigers support will be up for the occasion. It is clear that they have not reached a semi-final since 2009 due to indifferent away form, both in the group stages and quarter final stages. Their home record, however, is very consistent (P 72, W 59, D 2, L 11). Should they win this weekend, they will face the winner of Racing 92 v Toulon in Nottingham or Nice.
Tigers have yet to string a full 80 minute performance together this season, aside from the away victory at Munster in December, and with Brendan O’Connor, Mike Fitzgerald, and Lachlan McCaffrey likely to return, they will be as close to a first choice XV as possible for the remainder of the season. O’Connor has won a team high six turnovers in the tournament thus far, and his presence in the Tigers pack has been sorely missed for large parts of the season. These returning forwards will add much needed power and urgency that has gone missing for stints of the last five or six matches. Poor tackling and a soft underbelly in the pack were the reasons for their slump in February and March, but they look to have turned a corner with the win over Gloucester.
The same fixture in the pool stages ended in a 33-20 victory to Leicester, and a home victory is the bookies choice this time around, too. It is easy to write off Stade Francais based on this, but the defending French champions will certainly prove more of a handful on Sunday. Stade have endured a long wait for a European quarter final, let alone anything more. That being said, every Tigers fan will rightfully mourn a glaring missed opportunity should they fail to progress to the semi-finals for the first time in seven years. It will be down to them to provide that feared Welford Road home advantage to prevent heartbreak this weekend, just as they did last Saturday.
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