Borthwick restores Leicester's place at the top one game at a time

LONDON : Leicester coach Steve Borthwick said the two-year rebuilding job that culminated in Saturday's Premiership final victory over Saracens was not part of any grand, goal-laden plan but merely the result of "trying to get better every day."

Leicester triumphed 15-12 with a last-minute Freddie Burns drop goal - two years after they avoided relegation by a stroke of good fortune and then turned to Borthwick.

In the build-up to Saturday's final Borthwick told The Times he was shocked by what he found at the club after moving from being Eddie Jones' assistant at England in July 2020 but was excited by the challenge of "trying to lift the biggest club from where it was and try to do something special".

The previous two seasons had produced second-last finishes with the unthinkable prospect of relegation avoided only because of Saracens being deducted points for salary cap violations.

Dealing with his new job in the maelstrom of COVID-19 was not easy but a sixth-place finish in his first season represented a big step forward.

Borthwick surrounded himself with young, dynamic assistants, including former rugby league star Kevin Sinfield, and tapped into the vast knowledge of scrumhalf Richard Wigglesworth - at 39 only three years younger than Borthwick but on the field for over an hour on Saturday.

This season was the great leap as Leicester became the first team to top the standings from first week to last then showed defensive mettle to get past Northampton in the semi-finals.

They were the better team for most of the match on Saturday and Borthwick said he was delighted that his famed attention to detail was there for all to see as his players manoeuvred for the key drop goal.

"The way they handled that, showing the composure to get into a better position, it was phenomenal and the way they thought as clearly as they did was very impressive," Borthwick added.

For anyone knowing Borthwick it was no surprise and asked on Saturday what his target had been for the season, the former England captain and lock said he never dealt in such long-term thinking.

"The message is just get better each week," he said. "I know people in sport are always trying to put events in context of the past or the future but my view is you just try to be your best because I like to keep things very simple."

He also said it was a straightforward decision to bring Burns back to the club after he had moved to Japan, and saw it pay dividends when he came off the bench to replace George Ford midway through the first half and then land the all-important drop goal at the death.

"It was like a dead duck going over but I didn’t care," Burns said. "I'm so pleased for the fans really. They’ve been here in the tough times over the last few years so it is great to give them that reward."