Best possible start thrills Cockerill

Editor

Leicester Tigers boss Richard Cockerill was delighted to emerge from his side's opening two matches with maximum points in the Champions Cup.

A bonus point win in poor conditions against Treviso means that Leicester top Pool 4 with ten points to their name.

Full-back Telusa Veainu grabbed two of Leicester's four tries and Cockerill was pleased to see his squad back up last Friday's triumph over Stade Français.

"You've got to be satisfied with maximum points from two games and also with not conceding a try," Cockerill said.

"The attitude in defence not to let them in even when we were well ahead said a lot for the team. The boys responded well after conceding three times against Stade Francais last weekend.

"Two wins out of two is a good start, we've got to be happy with that. To get two bonus points is important too – every point will count.

Cockerill explained: "In the first half we controlled it very well and were physically very good. In the second half we were a bit inaccurate, and the wind and rain made it tough when you're trying to play with ball in hand.

"Treviso made it hard for us, they were tackling themselves to a standstill. We had some good set-piece early in the second half and probably should have made more from that. But we kept going and we got the rewards in the end.

"It was great footwork – a bit of individual brilliance – from Telusa Veainu for the fourth try. His individual skills got us that try – that was one of the reasons we included him in the team. And it was good for us that we added another try right at the end."

Treviso head coach Marius Goosen admitted his side couldn't match Leicester's ability to play in the poor conditions, saying: "Leicester had players with the quality and ability to beat players and score tries, even in poor weather conditions, and that was the difference between the teams.

"There were times when we matched Leicester but in those conditions you have to turn territory into points and we didn't take our opportunities."