Opposition view: Tigers 'got a little bored of doing simple things' in win against Saints

Tigers raced into a 21-0 lead only to see Saints score three times, cutting the gap to just two points.

But eventually the home side got the job done at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, bagging a bonus-point Premiership Rugby Cup success.

And Hewat said: "I thought we were really, really good in the first 30 minutes. We did exactly what we'd spoken about, then we just got a little bit bored of doing the simple things.

"We tried running from our own 22 and got caught a couple of times at the back end of that first half.

"We lost a bit of momentum and there was a bit of to and fro in the second half, but it was nice to score a few points. But we know we've still got some work to do.

"We had three or four ball players on the field, which helped us move the ball, but the big thing for us is to work a bit harder on our defensive side of the game.

"I thought our system was okay but we just fell off a few too many tackles and Saints are a good team when they’re on the front foot.

"All in all, it was nice to score 50 points and win a game of rugby at home.”

There were more than 20,000 fans at Welford Road for the cup clash.

And Hewat said: “It’s awesome!

"A few of the senior boys spoke about what the derby means to everyone and I was at a junior rugby festival on the morning of the game and everyone was talking it.

"We knew the importance of the game, we picked a team to respect that.”