We stuck to basics, says match-winner Toby
Leicester Tigers fly-half Toby Flood felt it was a case of sticking to the basics which helped his side to yesterday's thrilling 39-22 win over the Ospreys at Welford Road.
The final scoreline would suggest that Leicester won with something to spare, but that was far from the case.
It was not until Flood's interception try in the 71st minute that Tigers could really say they had a grip on the game.
The visitors burst out of the blocks and opened a 10-0 lead within 12 minutes – which would have knocked the stuffing out of many sides.
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But Tigers regrouped and were level by half-time. From there, it was nip and tuck until Flood stole Dan Biggar's pass and burst to the try line from 50 metres out.
Further tries from Ben Youngs and Manu Tuilagi iced the game and landed Tigers a precious bonus point.
"We couldn't get rid of them until the last 10 minutes," said the England fly-half after the game.
"It was a bit of a concern that we got six points up but then they came back to level – we would make an error from the kick-off and they would have a shot at goal.
"But we felt comfortable to the extent that if we got the basics right and turned the screw we would be there or thereabouts at the end.
"We felt as though we have the fitness and the ability to be able to hurt teams in the last 20 minutes of games."
Ospreys were not just hurt in the closing quarter of the action yesterday, they were dismantled as Tigers bounced back from the disappointment of the previous week's defeat against Toulouse in France.
The Heineken Cup goes on the back-burner until December now with Tigers' next game the visit of Treviso on December 8, the return in Italy a week later.
Having put themselves well and truly back in the picture, Tigers will look on the games against Treviso as opportunities to build foundations for a charge towards the quarter-finals.
"We have back-to-back games against Treviso now," said Flood. "That is massive for us. There is a very good chance that we can head into the final two games knowing what we have to do."
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