LEICESTER’S dejection at finishing well short of the play-off positions was compounded by the sight of their fierce rivals Northampton sitting at the top of the table.
Two years ago, Leicester had home advantage against Northampton in the semi-final and exploited it to set up a showdown against Saracens which they won with a late Freddie Burns drop goal.
They lost at Sale in last year’s semi-final having seen head coach Steve Borthwick depart halfway through the campaign. Dan McKellar moved from Australia to take over last summer and was left to reflect on a campaign that started slowly and fizzled out in the closing weeks but in between showed signs of what may be to come.
They ended on a high with victory over an Exeter side that needed to win to make the top four and there were signs of the attacking game McKellar believes the Tigers will need to hone if they are to make an impact next season having secured five try bonus points all campaign, three against the bottom two clubs and one against Bath’s second string.
“We saw a balance in our game against Exeter that we have been working hard on without seeing a transfer from the playing field,” said McKellar. “Our cores of defence and kick strategy were there but we played a bit of rugby and I loved our endeavour.
“It will give us confidence moving forward after what has been a tough year, starting with the World Cup, and we had injuries throughout. Unfortunately you have these years but we will be better for it. It makes you appreciate the good times.”
McKellar, who left his role as Australia’s assistant coach to join Leicester, will be bringing in an attack coach he expects to make a difference.
“It’s a new coaching group, I’m new to this club, new to this competition,” he said. “One of the things I do well is listen and adapt and I’ll make sure we are not sitting here in eighth position in 12 months’ time.
“I knew coming here that it is a very dif
