Graham Kitchener pleased with Leicester Tigers return

Leicester Tiger lock Graham Kitchener has expressed his satisfaction with his return to action for the club.

The 23-year-old made his first appearance for the Tigers since his try-scoring outing in the Aviva Premiership final in May during their 31-6 victory over Newcastle Falcons at Welford Road on Saturday.

"It felt like a long time since I played," Kitchen told the club's official website. "It was great to be back at Welford Road and to get a run-out was ideal.

"It was a long old 80 minutes but it's good to get the first game out of the way and hopefully it will be a bit easier on the lungs next time."

The Tigers travel to Exeter Chiefs on Sunday.