Michael Cheika hails ‘flag in the ground’ resilience as Leicester Tigers ‘journey’ reaches new high against Saracens
Leicester Tigers head coach Michael Cheika in warm-up.
Leicester Tigers head coach Michael Cheika kept a lid on the praise after his side’s win over Saracens after a “good battle” that saw them come out on top.
Despite picking up a first victory at StoneX Stadium in six years that continued their strong start to the season, the former Wallabies boss is not getting carried away.
The 32-29 success was Leicester‘s fifth win from six matches in the Premiership this campaign but head coach Cheika was keen to play down their early-season form.
Enjoyed the game
“You don’t get a trophy for second. You don’t get trophies six weeks in and second in the table,” he said.
“I’m happy with the team, the connection in the dressing room, the commitment of the lads and the ability to get over hurdles. If that converts into the scoreboard and the table, then great.
“It was a good battle against Saracens. I liked the physicality in the game. We won some battles, lost some others.
“I like the way that, even when the momentum swung back against us, we put our flag in the ground and said we’re not moving from here, we’re going to win the game.
“We’re enjoying our climb and the journey together. When things don’t go our way I want the guys to get big.
“We’re getting better, but you’ve always got to keep it real, take it from week to week and let the bigger picture take care of itself.”
The StoneX Stadium clash was shorn of the England internationals that are preparing for their opening game of the Autumn Nations Series against the All Blacks.
Compounding Saracens’ woes were injuries to fly-half Alex Goode and prop Marco Riccioni in the warm-up, this after another pivot, Fergus Burke, had been ruled out.
“We had a lot of disruption to deal with this week. We lost our starting props in the last 24 hours, we lost Fergus on Wednesday and then Alex in the warm-up,” boss Mark McCall said as he named a new playmaker for the game.
Tough situation
“Tim Swiel hadn’t run a play with us and for him to get thrown in at the deep end wasn’t easy.
“The lads were making calls and Tim didn’t know what they were. It’s not a great situation, but he managed his way through the game and I thought he did really well.
“Our rugby wasn’t great, but we did have the resolve and resilience and that gets you a long way.
“There’s a good way to lose and a bad way to lose and that was one of the better ways.”
READ MORE: Leicester Tigers hold off spirited Saracens comeback to end StoneX hoodoo
