Former Leicester fly half, Ian Humphreys is adamant that the Tigers will bounce back from the “freak result” against Humphreys’ current side, Ulster.
Humphreys was in great form, dictating play as the Ulstermen ran out 41-7 victors, handing Leicester their heaviest ever European defeat in Belfast last Friday.
Humphrey’s played for the Tigers for three years between 2005 and 2008, helping them to a league title, an Anglo Welsh cup and a European triumph in his time at Welford Road. Despite still feeling a certain level of affection for his former club, Humphreys was delighted with his new clubs triumph and the extent of victory in a game he, understandably believed would be a far closer encounter.
He believes the Tigers “will bounce back from this. It was a freak result. If you want rugby betting tips, back the Tigers to come back strong soon.” Describing the encounter as “a funny game and not the result I was expecting” Humphrey, and the other Ulster heroes, were clearly delighted with their performance and shocked by the lack of fight coming from their illustrious opponents.
Humphreys also makes the point that Leicester “tend to struggle in World Cup years, and this is what had happened again”. The Tigers have always had a high volume of international players particularly England players who have in recent times been involved in the latter stages of World Cup tournaments.
Their reliance on internationals has been ever more apparent this year, struggling during the World Cup and recovering to a play off place in the league since the tournament ended. With the Six Nations just around the corner the cycle looks set to start again, with the latest Betfair Six Nations betting odds suggesting that as many as 10 Leicester players will be playing in the crunch France-England game, amongst others.
The Tigers have though, as implied by Humphreys been through this in the past and always seem to come out the other side as strong as ever. Humphreys certainly agrees with this theory and it would be a brave person to bet against the Tigers being competitive again very soon. The Ulster result will no doubt prove to be little more than a blip.