Opposition view: Cheika feels Tigers' derby-day preparation paid dividends
Leicester Tigers boss Michael Cheika says lessons learned from the autumn helped his side to see off Saints on Friday night.
Cheika feels he and his team got the derby-day build-up right as they came back from the break from league action with a bang.
In contrast, Saints were slow out of the blocks, failing to take a first-minute chance before shipping three tries in eight minutes as they fell 17-0 behind.
And in their first match since suffering a Premiership Rugby Cup quarter-final defeat at Ealing Trailfinders, Saints could not find a way back against a resilient Tigers team.
While Saints hadn't played since the cup loss to Ealing on March 1, Leicester sharpened up with a friendly match against Munster last weekend.
And Cheika feels his players were 'ready in mindset, body and technically as well'.
“I think we played some good footy in the first half – we probably weren’t as efficient in the second half with the ball, but defended really well," Cheika said.
“I think, personally, that I didn’t have them (the players) ready after the November internationals – maybe I’m not used to the traffic going the other way.
“I had players coming back to me as opposed to me used to receiving them from the clubs, so I really learned from that first part to make sure that when they come out post-Six Nations, they were ready in mindset, body and technically as well.
“Every win, especially in this competition – it’s so bloody tight – is super important and I liked the way we built up into these games, and now it’s about the continuity in our preparation, making sure we’re on the money to just keep that going.”