Flanker Lewis Moody said Dean Richard's pre-game comments added to his side's motivation as they thumped Harlequins 42-13.
Lewis in the mood after Deano's comments
Flanker Lewis Moody said Dean Richard's pre-game comments added to his side's motivation as they cruised to a 42-13 demolition of Harlequins.
The Tigers legend and now director of rugby at The Stoop had suggested all was not well in the Leicester camp with comments made in the build-up to the game.
"I understand there is a certain element of not exactly discontent but, if you look at it slightly differently, there is a change of attitude between the coaches from Pat Howard to Marcelo Loffreda," Richards told
The Rugby Club on
Sky Sports.
"I think it is quite interesting to see how people react to that. I have heard the backs are enjoying their rucking and mauling!"
Moody said the Tigers squad were fully aware of what had been said, and couldn't wait to do their talking - on the pitch.
"The comments that were made in the week by certain members of the Quins set-up definitely helped to spur us along," he told
Leicester Mercury.
"You do hear about stuff like that - it doesn't go unnoticed. People always play that sort of stuff down but, when you hear things like that, you want to give it back to them.
"And the best way of doing that is not in the papers but on the field. We did that."
Stunning
The Tigers' fluent rugby simply blew the Quins away, and while being pleased at giving the former Leicester director of rugby a reply, 29-year-old Moody said the manner of their stunning victory was of greater importance.
"We wanted to get back to playing some flowing rugby and getting everyone involved in the game," he said.
"The backs have not had much ball in the last few weeks and we wanted to correct that. The reason we have been so good over the last few years is that we had a complete game and everyone was involved.
"We made a good contribution to getting back to that. It was a shame that they scored a try at the end. It would have been perfect to keep them out because we defended our hearts out."
Moody returned to the starting line-up after three weeks out with an ankle injury. The England international put in a stunning all-round performance himself, but was quick to praise his colleagues for a scintillating showing at The Stoop.
"This is always a very tough place to come and I was very impressed with the way that a lot of the guys played today," he said.
"People like Tom Varndell, Geordan Murphy and the rest of the backs have not seen much of the ball recently. Today, they showed why they should have more of it."
