Leicester's director of rugby, Dan McKellar, said his side were now “well and truly in the hunt” for the Premiership after a narrow victory over Harlequins at a sold-out Stoop.
The Tigers needed a much-needed boost after heavy defeats to La Rochelle and Leinster in Europe, but Friday's four points ensured they qualify for the play-offs when the Premiership resumes after the break in the upcoming Six Nations. The fighting position is maintained.
Leicester won 3-2 on tries and were indebted to Quins fly-half Jarrod Evans for missing an eminently kickable conversion from Tyrone Green's second-half try, but McKellar said his team deserved their good fortune. He felt that the defeat was “devastating and demoralizing”. ”.
He said: “It was a tough ask to come here in just six days after playing against the two best teams in Europe. This game is a very important one and we are back on track to win the Premiership. .
“I thought we played really well tonight and we should have ended the game a long time ago, so it was a shame that it ended up being the last kick. If we had lost, I would have been devastated and demoralized. But we certainly didn't score anything against Leinster last week, so we deserved a bit of luck. Our kicking game was great and our defensive pressure was impressive as well. So I would like to take this as a great source of confidence.”
Jasper Wiese and Mike Brown scored tries for Leicester, while Handre Pollard converted two penalties and two conversions. Harlequins had Nick David, Jack Walker and Green crossing and Evans added two conversions, but they struggled for continuity throughout the game, with a midfield three of Alex Dombrandt, Danny Care and Marcus Smith. I missed out on the human group experience a lot.
Quins assistant coach Danny Wilson praised Wales international Evans despite his late absence. He said: “He was out for a long time with an injury and was brought in in a deep position. He took a hard hit on his knee early on and felt pain in his kicking leg as a result. He was finding holes in the opposition's defence. So we decided to keep him there and he took the last kick and came forward.
After newsletter promotion
“But tonight we had too many different combinations so we made too many mistakes and lacked cohesion. , won the aerial duel. I can't fault the effort and spirit to get back in the game, but I'm frustrated and stinging at the moment.”
