Tigers back-rower Jordan Coghlan says the Leicester squad are pleased to have extended their unbeaten run in Europe – albeit with a ‘scrappy’ win over Cardiff Blues.

Geordan Murphy’s men came from behind to secure a 30-20 victory at Welford Road on Sunday and book their place in the European Challenge Cup quarter-finals with a pool game to spare – at Pau this Saturday (January 18).

“A win’s a win,” Coghlan said. “We said before the game that it would be one of those games where they come out all guns blazing, so we just needed to stick together.

“I think you saw that in the second half when we probably put it together a little bit more.”

After a tense first 40 minutes – with two Cardiff tries book-ending a Sam Lewis score – a reinvigorated Tigers side took to the field after the break to wrestle back the match.

Coghlan continued: “We stuck to our game plan more in the second half, with the backs doing a bit of damage after the forwards put in the hard yards, trucking it up.

“With Jordan [Olowofela] on the wing and Telusa [Veainu] at the back, they just opened up the field for us.”

Tigers now travel to France with an opportunity to clinch home advantage in the first knockout round, with the 27-year-old explaining the side can already take huge positives from their European campaign so far.

“We’re looking forward to next week against Pau,” he added. “Even though we’ve secured a quarter-final, it’s still a big game for us to keep on improving, so we’ll go over next week and give it a good crack.

“This competition has been huge for us. I think you can see we’re getting better every week and getting those important wins – even if they’re ugly wins – and when you come in after a win, it’s always a better camp, isn’t it?

“We know we still have to improve in order to get back to where this club wants to be, and so it has offered another chance for us to build.”