Tigers in trouble and look set to miss out on top four – Andy Goode

Leicester put a stop to their worst run of form since 1965 with a win over London Irish at Welford Road but they were far from impressive and this looks like being the first time for 13 years that they haven’t made the play-offs in the Premiership.

They’re now in the chasing pack behind Exeter, Saracens and Wasps as a general rule when everyone is fit and that’s not where Leicester should be. That is all about recruitment and until they rectify that they are going to find it difficult.

I think this break for Europe and the Anglo Welsh Cup will be good for Leicester as they look to find some form but they are going to have issues during the Six Nations because they’ve spent a lot of money on George Ford and his brother, who is his back-up, isn’t a starting Premiership number 10.

A quick glance at the halfbacks illustrates perfectly the mistakes Leicester have made with recruitment. Without Dan Robson and Danny Cipriani, Wasps have Joe Simpson and Jimmy Gopperth. Without Richard Wigglesworth and Owen Farrell, Saracens have Ben Spencer and Alex Lozowski. Sam Harrison and Joe Ford don’t measure up to that and it’ll be a struggle without Ben Youngs, George Ford, Jonny May and Dan Cole.

When you look at the fixtures, Leicester have to go away to Gloucester, Saracens and Worcester during the Six Nations and they’ll only have five games left to put things right when they get their stars back after the tournament, so I think they’re in real trouble in terms of making the top four.

I know they’ve been looking at playing Matt Toomua at fly half if they can get him a bit of game time but the next few weeks is huge for the Tigers, even though they are as good as out of Europe, in terms of determining the best combinations and finding some form.

It hasn’t been a happy few months in the East Midlands with Leicester’s great rivals Northampton losing 11 straight game in the Premiership and Europe but they finally ended that dismal run with victory over Gloucester at the weekend.

Saints have been through a lot over the past few months, a lot of mud has been slung at them and rightly so but this is more than just a monkey off their back, it’s a big hairy gorilla that’s climbed down from there.

Tom Wood said it felt like winning the league at the end and that just shows you the pressure that’s been on them day in, day out when you’re going into the club and everyone’s talking about how bad you are on the outside.

He said he was a bit reluctant to do a lap of honour but that was more to thank the fans for sticking with them and I think that’s right because those Northampton supporters have stuck with the team through thick and thin and it’s been just thin for the past few months.

They did perhaps get a bit lucky towards the end with some of the decisions but I think they deserve a bit of luck after what they’ve been through.

Alan Gaffney has still got a hell of a job on but to get that win in his first game will make a massive difference to the atmosphere and when a new voice comes in sometimes you work that little bit harder, you get off the deck a bit quicker and are a bit hungrier because you want to impress.

It probably shouldn’t do but a new boss coming in does change the mentality of some players and it clearly has at Saints.

Gaffney has come in and set his sights on the highest possible target, which is the top four. Fans will be listening to that and thinking that even the top six is a tough ask from where they are and the way they’ve been playing but top level European rugby has to be a minimum requirement for a club the size of Northampton. Mathematically it’s possible to get into the top four and I like his optimism and ambition.

Gloucester will bounce back. They shouldn’t have lost that game and it was a bit surprising to see Willi Heinz come out after the match and question the effort of some of his team-mates but that is a sign of the way the culture has changed at the club already under Johan Ackermann.

They’re no longer happy getting a losing bonus point at Franklin’s Gardens and they expected to win. I remember they went there on the first day of the season three years ago and lost 53-6 but they’re now in the top four and that’s a rallying call to say that those are games they need to be winning if they want to be there at the end of the season.

I was at the Ricoh Arena to round off the Premiership weekend and injuries played a huge part in proceedings but Saracens had all their big guns back and look well and truly back to their best after their own run of seven straight defeats in all competitions.

Wasps were missing Nathan Hughes, Joe Launchbury, Elliot Daly, Jimmy Gopperth, Kyle Eastmond and more and they ended up with Guy Armitage in the centres with Rob Miller, who has never played there in his life.

In contrast, that was Saracens’ first choice team with the exception of Liam Williams being out and Jamie George being left on the bench and it really showed. Maro Itoje didn’t have a massive game but Billy Vunipola was immense and their presence lifts the team and gets an extra 10 to 15 per cent out of those around them.

They’ve ridden out the storm after losing those seven straight games in November and December and have now beaten both Leicester and Wasps away from home. There’s still a long way to go but they’re certainly favourites to finish ahead of Wasps in the top two now.

Dai Young didn’t use injuries as an excuse and it was great to hear his interview after the game where he admitted that they were beaten by the better team and that was good for the integrity of the sport and the spirit of the game.

It was a damn good performance by Saracens and they looked every bit the European champions that they are but hopefully Wasps can get some bodies back and have another crack at them later in the season.