The bizarre moment that took centre stage in Leicester’s season opener
There was a lot of kicking at Sandy Park on Saturday when reigning Gallagher Premiership champions Leicester Tigers visited Exeter Chiefs. Some people are not particularly happy with that, some say that it is part of the modern game and all good teams kick a lot.
The match actually turned out to have an enthralling ending, which saw Exeter snatch victory at a death with a try by prop Patrick Schickerling. The game might have plodded along at a fairly lethargic pace in the middle though, which was shown no more clearly than the fact that a fly decided to make a home on the top of Dan Cole’s head. That does not usually happen when a player is in the throes of a fast paced match. On top of that, the fly got plenty of airtime during the match, and has become something of a z-list celebrity this week. By contrast, there weren’t many flies that hogged the limelight during the epic Bledisloe Cup Test on Thursday.
Of course the match was not actually that bad, in fact Cole produced one of the standout moments of the match with his charge down and pop for Hanro Liebenberg’s try. It is just unfortunate for him that the day he did one of the most athletic things he has ever done on a rugby pitch just so happened to be the same day that a fly thought his head was a good place to have a nap.
Take a look:
The fly got a front row seat for the action💺
Same time this week? #GallagherPrem #FridayFeeling | @LeicesterTigers pic.twitter.com/9iXyycEf4y
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) September 16, 2022
The Tigers’ loss has put them in a position that they did not once experience last season, which is sitting somewhere other than the very top of the league table. They were top from first day to last last season, but have to settle for eighth place after round one of the season. They will be hoping to climb up the rankings tomorrow though when they host Newcastle Falcons at Welford Road.
