Tigers collapse at Saints a 'hard watch' - McKellar

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Dan McKellar is in his first season as Leicester Tigers head coach

Head coach Dan McKellar said Leicester Tigers' capitulation in their heavy East Midlands derby defeat by Northampton was "a hard watch".

Tigers were a man down for half of the match, as Jasper Wiese and Jamie Shillcock both spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin either side of the break before Solomone Kata was shown a red card on the hour mark.

Leicester got within a point of Saints before Kata's dismissal, which prompted a collapse as the hosts crossed for three unanswered tries in a 40-17 win that dented Tigers' hopes of a top-four finish.

"The second half just wasn't enough," McKellar told 大象传媒 Radio Leicester.

"It was a hard watch, we were chasing the game and turning the ball over and they are lethal off turnover ball.

"It's a derby game and this game means a lot to everyone, both clubs, and we were well beaten today."

Focus on Bristol, not play-offs

Defeat saw Tigers end the weekend eighth in the table and six points adrift of a play-off spot with three matches of the regular season remaining.

Leicester next host Bristol, who moved up to fourth with an emphatic 13-try 85-14 thrashing of winless Newcastle on Sunday.

"I'm not even really worried about play-offs, I'm just worried about performance," said McKellar.

"We are back home next week, have three games at least to go and we will focus on Bristol now."