Richard Cockerill reckons his side's first away win of the Aviva Premiership season could prove crucial in their pursuit of the title.
Irish reeling after yet another setback
Richard Cockerill reckons his side's first away win of the Aviva Premiership season could prove crucial in their pursuit of the title.
The Tigers beat London Irish 23-14, denying the Exiles a bonus point thanks to a late penalty try and leapfrogging them into second place in the table.
Leicester head coach Cockerill said: "That is a big win away from home for us. It is our first win in the Premiership away from home and it is points against a side who were above us and cements us in the top four.
"We have just tried to work as hard as we can with the players we have got. What we have tried to do consistently over a number of years is the guys who go on the field believe in themselves and I believe in them.
"The forward pack as a whole were really good. (George) Skivington and (Brett) Deacon really gelled well and were really physical against a good line-out."
Billy Twelvetrees continued his excellent form of recent weeks with three penalties and two conversions, as he stood in for England number 10 Toby Flood.
Cockerill said Flood was rested after a bang on the head against South Africa last week, adding: "Floody was picked to play but his head was not quite right. What I mean by that is that he still had a bit of memory loss about the (England) game so we didn't risk him.
"Billy has done a good enough job to come away from home against a big side and today I thought he did some pretty good things under pressure. At a push, we could have had Floody on the pitch but you have to have confidence in your squad."
Pretty ordinary
It was a fifth straight defeat in all competitions for Irish and Exiles head coach Toby Booth admitted: "It is very disappointing today. I'm disappointed for the fans and the people who have come to watch today because parts of that were pretty ordinary but we still managed to get ourselves into a position to win the game.
"We are still within reach although elements of our game were not good enough.
"This game is about momentum, pressure and making people do things. If you can't keep possession for long periods of time, it doesn't matter how good a side you are or how good your individuals are, you cannot sustain pressure.
"Although I thought we were much better than we were in contact last week, in the set-piece we were ordinary."
