Leicester Tigers head coach Michael Cheika has set his sights firmly on Newcastle Falcons after his side fell to league leaders Bath in the penultimate round of the Premiership at the weekend.
Saturday’s match at the Recreation Ground saw a full strength Bath side display pure authority as they took apart a previously in-form Leicester.
After what was a tight opening half, the hosts let loose with four unanswered tries in the second, eventually defeating their famous visitors 43-15.
Cheika addresses second-half fallout
Speaking to press after the match, Cheika said: “I just didn’t think we had that extra edge in attack and we played a lot of the second half in our own half.
“Even in the first half we had some opportunities that we didn’t nail. When you’re playing again a top team away from home you’ve got to nail as many as you can and keep the pressure on them.”
The scores were tight at half time, but sadly for Chieka’s men, the pressure told in the second half.
“Overall we were right in the defensive game, we took on their big man pretty well, but you can’t be in your own half defending for the whole day. I think the weight of possession and the weight of territory eventually told on us.”
Defending for long periods of time is a formidable challenge, even for the greatest defences in the world, so what do the Leicester men do differently next time and how do they rectify this?
“How to avoid that is to play more in the opposition territory,” Cheika explained. “Not just by kicking either, but by taking the ball to them. We didn’t attack as much as we’d have liked to with ball in hand.”
While sat behind the 58-year-old former Wallaby boss, this reporter noted the apparent frustration building up within the Leicester coaching area during the match. When asked about Cheika’s regular calls for offside and concern surrounding some of the refereeing decisions, he had the following to say:
“When they’re standing up in front of the last feet [back foot] when the ball’s not even out yet – what do you say?”
But it wasn’t the offsides that the experienced coach wanted to pinpoint, it was the two yellow cards for head clashes that raised his eyebrows the most, asking for more consistency in the decision making.
“They’ve [the officials] got to definitely get on top of what you go back for with the TMO because if you want to go back through that game there’s at least a few other head clashes.
“Both of them shouldn’t have gone off. I don’t think their fella should have gone off either,” Cheika said referring to Ollie Chessum’s yellow for head contact on Will Muir and Tom Dunn’s on Hanro Liebenberg.
“It makes a difference. The was also confusion around the mouthguard thing.
“All those things take their toll,” Cheika concluded, before adding “I wouldn’t say I’m frustrated.”
Leicester will head into their final match of the Premiership season [before the play-offs] needing just a bonus point loss to secure a knockout spot. A win will guarantee them a home semi-final.
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