'Infectious' - Brett Deacon delivers Leicester Tigers' Premiership Cup verdict and reveals coaching aspiration

Brett Deacon revealed his own coaching aspiration as he labelled Leicester Tigers' Premiership Rugby Cup campaign a success despite falling short of reaching the final.

Tigers used the competition to blood players as young as 17 and to give game time to those on the fringes of first-team squads, winning three of their four pool stage games to set-up a semi-final showdown with London Irish on Tuesday night.

A young and inexperienced visiting side to the Brentford Community Stadium shipped nine tries in a 59-20 defeat as the Exiles progressed to the final where they will face the winners of tonight's semi-final between Gloucester and Worcester Warriors in next month's final.

With head coach Steve Borthwick stepping back, Deacon led Tigers for all five Premiership Rugby Cup games on the next step of his coaching journey that started with the club's academy upon his retirement from playing in 2013.

"We've learned a lot through this whole competition," the 40-year-old told BBC Radio Leicester's Chris Egerton. "We're a club that constantly looks at ways to improve and get better. Steve [Borthwick] drives that from the front, that's infectious from me as a young coach, and a coach that's aspiring to be a head coach and to lead a team. The whole campaign we've looked at how we're going to improve and how we're going to get better."

Tigers conceded five tries in the first half and four more in the second of what proved to be the most comprehensive of their six defeat from 32 games in all competitions this season.

"If you look at this game tonight in isolation, it would be unfair," added Deacon. "I think we need to look at the whole campaign and say that it has actually been a success, it's the first time in five years that the