Ellis Genge has promised his Leicester side will come flying out of the blocks in the eagerly awaited Gallagher Premiership semi-final against Northampton on Saturday, and will not fall into the same early trap that cost the Tigers against Leinster in Europe last month.
Genge, who is preparing to play his last home game for the club before switching to Bristol this summer, says he and the rest of the Tigers pack have resolved to make an instant impact, rather than sitting back and inviting the Saints to gather crucial momentum.
“Leinster has probably ingrained a mentality that we will never come out of the blocks cold again,” said Genge, who is looking to help steer Leicester to a first Premiership final since 2013. “We made a pact after that as forwards, that we would always come out of the blocks first. That’s what we plan to do. You can expect that from Leicester Tigers sides for years to come.”
The Tigers’ head coach, Steve Borthwick, has also been stressing that finishing first in the regular season will count for nothing if Leicester ease up now. “I think one of the lessons from the Leinster game was how clinical they were in taking their opportunities,” Borthwick said.
“We weren’t clinical enough. I think there’s a big lesson there about not giving opposition of that quality too many opportunities. I think we’ve done that a bit better since.”
Genge is also understandably keen to make his farewell home appearance as Leicester skipper a memorable one to reward the hard work of all concerned, not least Borthwick.
“Steve is absolutely incredible,” the England prop said. “He’s a well-decorated coach who probably doesn’t get the plaudits he deserved. I’m so happy he’s finally getting some recognition for being such a good operator. He works tirelessly, so he deserves it. There are some brilliant people at this club who I am really going to miss dearly.”
Exeter have confirmed the appointment of Omar Mouneimne as their new defence coach. The experienced South African has spent the past two seasons at Bristol and has also previously worked in Europe with Edinburgh, Stade Français and Worcester, in addition to two years with the Italian national team between 2009 and 2011.
The Chiefs’ director of rugby, Rob Baxter, said he wanted Mouneimne to bring fresh energy to his coaching set-up. “I wanted to get a bit of a change in vibe in the coaching room, as well as the actual tactics and techniques we would be using,” Baxter said.
“It’s quite interesting when you see a guy jumping to his feet to describe things defensively in the middle of a café and that infectious energy can rub off.”
