Bryan Redpath cut a relieved figure as he saw his Gloucester side battle to an important 12-9 success over Leicester.
Gloucester coach urges players to build on victory
Bryan Redpath cut a relieved figure as he saw his Gloucester side earn their first home Guinness Premiership win since the opening day of the season with a 12-9 success over Leicester.
Two penalties and two drop-goals from fly-half Freddie Burns was just enough to see the Cherry and Whites home as Leicester could only muster three penalties from the boot of Jeremy Staunton.
Lote Tuqiri missed a golden opportunity to win it for the visitors at the death but knocked on when a try looked a formality, much to Redpath's relief.
"We needed a little bit of fortune at the end, with a missed penalty and the knock-on," stated the Gloucester supremo.
"But we created opportunities but didn't finish them off.
"I have never faulted the players' efforts over the last five or six weeks and sometimes we may be boring to watch but you have to be in the right areas to be in these games and work hard to create pressure.
"And, in the second half, we had huge amounts of pressure and possession. I cannot question the boys' efforts and tonight we got a bit of reward. To see their faces, it shows we are a tight unit.
"There were a lot of people who were, quite rightly so, criticising and having their say but I think it takes a lot of mental courage from the players to come through it."
But Redpath insisted his side could not now ease up as they prepare to face Harlequins at The Stoop next week.
"If we don't back this win up now, I would be hugely disappointed," he added. "We have to push on from that.
"This has to set a foundation. We cannot think we have cracked it - we have cracked nothing. We have won one game."
Cockerill disappointed
Leicester coach Richard Cockerill, who faces an RFU disciplinary hearing next Wednesday, was predictably disappointed to see his side lose, but conceded they had paid the price for not making more of their chances.
"We tried to play too much in the first-half and, in the second-half, when we got the ball, we kicked poorly and they came back at us," he stated.
"They camped in our half for the whole of the second period and we defended exceptionally well to keep them out.
"But we were not smart enough and that cost us.
"We will take the bonus point but we should have won. We thought we had a good chance to win, and rightly so, but they played well in the right areas. It was hard for us to get a rhythm."
Cockerill, though, did not think it would have been harsh if Tuqiri had scored that last-gasp winner.
"Every time we got in their half, we looked like we would score points. We put them under pressure and they gave penalties away but you play for 80 minutes and you look at the score at the end of it."
