At this time of year, fresh starts can quickly become false dawns, so Leicester’s bonus point win must be treated with caution, but we saw the Tigers at least bare their teeth. It was their second win in 11 matches and was fully deserved, with two tries from Jonny May against his former club proving decisive against a Gloucester side whose season has plateaued.
Leicester’s spirit was summed up by Dan Cole, out of the England picture but at his combative best, with George Ford again the architect of their stylish attack. Defensively, as was the case last time out at Bath, there were significant improvements, and they climb to sixth in the table. It helps too when May is on hand to finish his ninth and 10th tries of the season.
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“Jonny is world-class and he is always going to be up for it against his old club,” said the Leicester coach, Geordan Murphy, who all but confirmed Phil Blake is returning to the club in a coaching capacity. “Guys tend to have a little point to prove playing against their mates.”
Gloucester were outgunned at the breakdown and badly missed the direction Danny Cipriani provides from fly-half. Gloucester will now turn their attentions to the last two rounds of Europe – they are in with a shout of reaching the knockout stages as they head to Munster on Friday – and their coach, Johan Ackermann, revealed Cipriani could be in contention to return. Had he been fit to square off against Ford this may well have been a classic with which to begin the year.
As it was, it was lively enough, with Leicester on to the board early with a Ford penalty. The England fly-half was instrumental in their opening try too, floating a pass to Jonah Holmes who released May outside him on the right for a simple finish. Gloucester could not get a foothold and Leicester added another penalty midway through the half.
Billy Twelvetrees got Gloucester up and running with a penalty but while they grew into the match, their offloading game helping to make yards, Cipriani’s eye for the killer pass was notable by its absence. “Danny has X-Factor and skill he can bring,” said Ackermann. “We have to have faith in the whole group though. When you lose you can be quick to point out individuals but I felt we can be much better.”
They finished the half the stronger, another Twelvetrees penalty bringing them to within seven at the break, but Leicester were over with what felt like the decisive score four minutes into the second half. Ford fizzed a pass to Matt Toomua, whose delightful inside ball to Holmes created the gap for the Wales full-back to cruise over. Ford converted for a 14-point lead.
It proved to be one of Toomua’s last acts, as he made way for Kyle Eastmond, who made an immediate impact on his return from suspension. His flicked pass – a skill borrowed from his league days – to Ben Youngs on the right was a delight, the scrum-half giving May a clear run to the line for his second.
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To keep Leicester honest – and maybe to temper optimism in this, the most inconsistent of seasons – Gloucester hit back immediately with their openside flanker, Gareth Evans, picking off a loose Ford pass and showing enough pace to reach the line. Twelvetrees converted and landed a subsequent penalty soon after to reduce the gap to 11.
Ford’s clever show and go to create the space and splash over the line put the game to bed and while Jordan Olowofela’s late try was harshly disallowed, it was an afternoon when Leicester could have few complaints.
“At the start of the year it’s a pretty positive picture to show,” Murphy said. “We haven’t changed a huge amount, we haven’t gone to the pub or gone paintballing, we’ve just been working hard.”