Marcelo Loffreda was delighted to get his tenure as Leicester coach off to a winning start as the Tigers beat Leeds 29-6 on Saturday.
Argentine delighted to make winning start with Leicester
New Leicester coach Marcelo Loffreda was delighted to get his tenure as Tigers supremo off to a winning start as he watched his side beat Leeds 29-6 at Headingley on Saturday.
Two Tom Varndell tries set up a solid if unspectacular victory with Leicester's ruthless cutting edge the difference in a hard-fought encounter.
"I am pleased," stated Loffreda, Argentina's World Cup coach. "The win is always important.
"We could do some of the aspects better than we did it but in general I'm really happy."
Loffreda reserved special praise for Tom Croft after an all-action display from the promising young flanker.
"Croft was really outstanding and he was the man of the match. He has a lot of potential, a really good future but maybe in another in another few months who could make a big jump."
However, despite the triumph, Loffreda conceded there was still plenty for his side to work on.
"It's really tough. Leeds are not in the best position of the competition and it is difficult," he added. "They worked hard and played a really good game and I have to congratulate the Leeds team.
"When we planned the game we did it very carefully not to give them any opportunity to score. We did not concede any tries to them but we have to be more sharp when we have the ball."
Lancaster taking the positives
Leeds director of rugby Stuart Lancaster was pleased with the way his side physically matched the reigning Premiership champions and, despite another loss, insisted there were plenty of positives to take from the encounter.
"I was disappointed with the scoreline but I thought there were lots of positive aspects to our performance," he said.
"What it demonstrated is that you've got to get all parts of your game functioning to the highest level when you're facing sides of the quality of Leicester.
"Leicester took their chances well and it won them the game.
"I thought we matched them across the field but they're a quality side and they get one or two opportunities and suddenly you look at the score and think is that a fair reflection of the game.
"We didn't get enough decent ball off our lineout. In a game like this when your lineout and ability to draw off it as crucial we didn't generate enough pressure on them in that area to win the game."
