Leicester 35-26 Stormers: Dan McKellar’s half-time outburst inspires second-half fightback, as Handre Pollard dazzles with the boot to help Tigers claim victory
- Leicester Tigers mounted a second-half comeback to defeat the Stormers
- Handre Pollard stole the show, scoring 20 points and also scored a try
- It came after Tigers coach Dan McKeller delivered a rallying call at half-time
Leicester Tigers head coach Dan McKellar read the riot act to his players at half-time to inspire a second-half fightback win over the Stormers.
The visitors’ decision to leave most of their big-name players in South Africa to prepare for La Rochelle next week meant Leicester began the game as strong favourites, only to trail 17-10 at the break.
But they stepped up a level in the second half, with 20 points from Springboks fly-half Handre Pollard. And Aussie coach McKeller said he had to remind his players of his expectations at half-time.
McKellar said: ‘I don’t do it that often these days and it’s not about yelling and screaming, it’s about understanding we needed to shift in the attitude and enthusiasm and effort areas.
Handre Pollard starred as Leicester Tigers defeated the Stormers 35-26 at Welford Road
The Springboks fly-half scored 20 points to inspire a second-half comeback
Tigers head coach Dan McKellar delivered a rousing half-time talk to his players, after they went into the break seven points down
‘Someone’s going to drop a ball every now and then or throw a bad pass, I can live with that, but I can’t live with being out-enthused.
‘We got some set-piece dominance, we kicked better, it was tough conditions.
‘I know everyone wants to see us throwing the ball around and I thought again there were some really good passages and skill and play, but we just executed our game plan.
‘We managed to put them under pressure with our kicking game, through our defence and through our set-piece. At this time of the year, that’s going to win games.’
Solomone Kata crossed the try line for the Tigers in the first half, before Keke Morabe and Courtnall Skosan scored before the break
But Leicester hit back in the second half, scoring three tries to seal their first win in the tournament this season
Solomone Kata scored the opening try for Leicester, but Keke Morabe and Courtnall Skosan touched down to allow the Stormers to go into half-time ahead.
Although the visitors proved hard to shake off, a second try from Kata and scores by Pollard and Josh Bassett ensured the Tigers got the job done.
Leinster take revenge against La Rochelle
Leinster got a flicker of revenge for last season’s Champions Cup final defeat as they won 16-9 at La Rochelle.
Jordan Larmour’s try was the difference as Leinster piled misery on Ronan O’Gara’s side, who have won the last two Champions Cups but sit ninth in this season’s Top14.
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