Press Conference Notes 01.06.21

Head Coach Jonathan Thomas spoke to the media today ahead of Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership match against Newcastle Falcons (kick-off 3.00pm).

Here’s what Jonathan had to say:

On the Leicester performance

  • Close but no cigar. It’s frustrating for everyone but you can clearly see how hard the boys are working and the growth in the team.
  • The spine of our team was very young with Jay Tyack coming in at tighthead prop, two young locks, a young captain in Ted Hill,
  • Fin Smith, Ollie Lawrence and Harri Doel so we have a lot of exciting talent.
  • Sometimes to win tight games you need experience.

On Jay Tyack’s debut

  • He did really well given the fact that he only had two training sessions with us.
  • Leicester have been scrumming for penalties for fun against most teams this season but Jay acquitted himself really well against them.

What have you made of Ted Hill’s performance?

  • Ted had a fine game on Saturday but he has been so consistent for us all season.
  • He has played most minutes of anyone in our team and he wants to do everything in training.
  • As a captain and a man he has led the team well this season. He has been so consistent, especially his form over the last few weeks, that it would be great to see him in an England shirt this summer.
  • I can’t speak highly enough of Ted. He’s a really measured human being, he’s mature beyond his years.
  • Sometimes you have to take step out of it and say: what do want to achieve in the long-term? You need to look at the bigger picture.
  • Look at someone like Sam Warburton. There were a lot of naysayers when he was appointed captain of Wales at a young age and then, when he was appointed captain of British and Irish Lions, people probably questioned that decision too.
  • But Sam went on to have a fine career and he became an unbelievable leader at that level.
  • It’s about giving people opportunities  to grow and the opportunity to be exposed.
  • You learn from the mistakes you make but Ted is not making huge mistakes. As a person he is consistent, as a player he is consistent. He leads by his actions and he also talks very well. He’s very measured in the heat of the moment.
  • We are committed to developing our whole team but especially growing someone like Ted as a young captain. It’s very exciting where he can go.

On playing Newcastle after a heavy defeat at Exeter Chiefs

  • It was a tough result for them so you can expect a backlash from that.
  • Sandy Park is a tough place to go so we will not be paying too much attention to that result because Newcastle have been consistent at home this season and it’s going to be a tough game.

On the news that Gloucester have had to cancel this weekend’s match against Bath Rugby owing to positive COVID-19 tests

  • We send our best wishes to everyone at Gloucester. It’s also a reminder that we are not out of the woods yet when it comes to COVID and it’s important that we still take the precautions that we have been.
  • We are not thinking about the Gloucester game yet but we hope that everyone there is safe and well.

How are your pre-season plans taking shape?

  • David Drake started with us yesterday as our Head of Performance and Strength and Conditioning so we will be doing a lot of planning over the next couple of weeks.
  • We haven’t had a proper pre-season since the new coaching team came in so this will be our first opportunity.
  • We are excited by David’s appointment and we believe that he will take our conditioning and our strength and power to another level.
  • In terms of going away, we have drawn up Plan A and Plan B, depending on COVID restrictions.

Injuries

  • Ollie Lawrence suffered a dead leg against Leicester and then cramped up. We will assess him later this week.
  • Nick Schonert missed the Leicester match with an ankle injury and we will also assess him this week.
  • Harri Doel had cramp in both calves against Leicester.
  • Andrew Kitchener took a bang to the throat on Saturday.
  • Matt Kvesic has a sore knee and will be assessed later in the week.

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