Steve Borthwick previews the Gallagher Premiership away trip to Twickenham Stoop in Round 6 of the 2022/23 season.
Speaking at the club’s Oval Park training ground, the Leicester Tigers Head Coach said improvement remains the target for his squad.
“You are always looking to find where you need to move, which direction you need to go … that is what I always do, every week,” he said.
“You ask yourself questions constantly, challenging yourself; what did we do last week, did it improve and how can we continue to see growth?
“Sometimes you see things going on on the pitch immediately, which you can change, and sometimes it takes longer. We don’t change that approach, whatever the result.”
Tigers have welcomed new faces into the matchday squad in each of the five games so far this season, with Sunday’s game against Harlequins to be the first of the campaign in which all players named have already played.
However, with several stars sidelined following knocks in the opening months, new combinations will again be on show at Twickenham Stoop.
A first start at blindside for Hanro Liebenberg at blindside this season, Harry Potter and Matt Scott combining in the midfield and Freddie Steward, Chris Ashton and Anthony Watson starting in the back three.
Discussing the evolution of his sides, Borthwick said: “There are personnel changes, this is a very different team to last year.”
“A lot of people have come in – Julian Montoya and Jasper Wiese played their first game at the weekend – in each game. The squad has changed weekly.
“I think we have used almost 35 players already, in just five games, but that is the nature of having such a large international contingent in the squad – which I am proud of, the club is proud of and we want to continue to see for our players.”
Borthwick admitted it was a big challenge, taking on Harlequins in London, but said the focus at Oval Park has been largely on what his side needs to improve.
“We will show Harlequins all the respect we can, but our focus is largely on US AND what we are building,” said Borthwick.
“They are a really good team and have very good players in their squad, who understand the way they want to play very well.
“It’s a group that has players in key positions, who have played a lot of rugby together and it will be a big challenge on Sunday at Twickenham Stoop.”
See the matchday squad named for Sunday’s trip to Harlequins HERE.
