Leicester Tigers skipper Tom Youngs believes Saturday’s 20-13 win over champions Exeter Chiefs is the beginning of great things to come.
Leicester had won two games in a row against Gloucester and Harlequins.before they played Exeter at Welford Road.
The Tigers showed their title credentials with a gutsy performance against the holders, displaying a never-say-die attitude in a hard-fought triumph.
And it was the manner of the victory that most pleased Youngs.
“We have had three wins now but Saturday’s win was the turning point for me,” the 30-year-old hooker told the Leicester Mercury.
“Things just clicked and we were physical and accurate. We also put in an 80-minute performance.
“Our discipline was poor at times and we gave away a lot of penalties because we were under pressure a lot of the time.
“But the way that we stuck to our game plan and made sure that it worked was a big turning point for us.
“The game plan is there for a reason. The coaches give it to you and if you go off that game plan, you can end up losing. It’s there for a reason and it’s important that we stick to it.
“The way we started the season knocked everyone’s confidence and everyone was getting a bit tense because that confidence was not quite there.
“When you are confident in things, you can go out there and do it. Now we are starting to find that.”
Youngs, also expressed his satisfaction that the Tigers' players were learning from their mistakes and executing better.
“That Quins game was a huge confidence boost to the squad and we won even after a poor start to the second half,” he said.
“We spoke about that and, against Exeter, our start to the second half was much better.
“It shows that the little things we are addressing, we are doing. The squad is in a good place at the minute, a good mental place and that is half the battle in some regards.
“When the pressure is on, you cannot shy away from it and you have to answer questions. There is a lot more to it than meets the eye. There is a lot going on behind the scenes in rugby.
“It’s difficult and the pressure is on. When things are not quite going well, it is hard to find the answer at times. It takes time for a team to gel and when you are getting a lot of changes though injury, it does affect the rhythm of the team.
“When you can get a 23 going on a roll, it is great if you can keep them fit and keep that continuity.
“We had not beaten a top four side in a long time when Exeter arrived and it was nice to do that, especially in the way that we did it because we were under pressure.”
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