Leicester Tigers head coach Aaron Mauger has confessed that his side are feeling the effects of a tough season after securing a place in the Aviva Premiership semi-finals for the 12th successive year.
A 31-17 bonus-point win over Worcester Warriors on Saturday afternoon booked a playoff spot for fourth-placed Tigers, alongside Saracens, Exeter Chiefs and Wasps.
Despite the margin of victory, Mauger was unhappy with his side's overall showing and believes that it is a direct result of some "emotional" recent fixtures both domestically and in Europe.
"I'm pleased to get to the semis, it's a nice feeling," BBC Sport quotes him as saying. "But the performance was a bit flat.
"It was probably a reflection of the last four weeks; four big, emotional games - Gloucester, the European quarter-final against Stade Francais, the derby against Northampton, and Racing.
"We could see during the week that the boys were mentally and emotionally flat and that transferred into the performance."
Vereniki Goneva, Opeti Fonua and Telusa Veainu all crossed over for Leicester in the opening 40 minutes at Welford Road, before Will Evans secured a second-half bonus point.
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