WHAT TO EXPECT?
To look back is never a good thing as any coach will tell you, you have to keep moving forward. Steve Borthwick is the first to tell you that.
A 6th place finish in the Premiership with the added attraction of securing Champions Cup rugby was no mean feat last season. But as we know, expectations at Welford Road are higher than at most clubs and after some relatively lean times, the hunger for more progress is undeniable. So how far can Leicester maintain their progress? You can make a strong case to back them to improve still more.
Analyse the squad first. Unlike some seasons, there is genuine talent behind the internationals in the squad, so much so that to my mind, there are now two players of unquestioned Premiership quality in every position - something Leicester have not had in some time and way before those two 11th placed finishes.
The case is strongest in the front row with arguably three fine props or four hookers to cover the respective positions. Van Wyk was regarded as the strongest scrummaging loose-head at Northampton and there can be greater confidence now in the back-up to Genge, though you wonder when Whitcombe will soon be able to do that himself.
Perhaps it is weakest on the wing and this may prove to be the most interesting feature when Leicester name their squad for the visit of Exeter a week on Saturday.
Nadolo is a nailed-on certainty to start on the left against his former club. But does that leave room for Saumaki who has impressed on the left so far in pre-season? Does Murimurivalu start on the right, or is there time for Van Wyk or Potter to show their stuff?
Steward is selected on the right wing this as he was towards the end of the season and remains an option. Interesting to see him selected ahead of Kobus Van Wyk, Potter and Murimurivalu.
Strength in depth?
What matters is that another summer of recruitment seems to have worked well, although of course, nothing in anger has been completed yet.
Burns looked like he’d never been away in seeking space against the Dragons, while Socino’s experience at inside centre could be very useful indeed. Saumaki’s pace and power out wide makes him a very different option compared to some wings on the books and as we know, Nadolo has not played in every game of most recent seasons. But could Saumaki switch wings eventually?
Snyman at lock, Hegarty at fullback and Francois Van Wyk have had fewer opportunities to shine so far but all three provide experience at their various levels and should fit straight in. Lancaster and Richardson needs to be given time as young prospects.
It’s possible that a team-full of internationals could be away in the autumn, if all those called up in the summer are again involved in Test rugby. Although Eddie Jones might be thinking of refreshening his England team, we shall see how radical the Australian proves to be.
But assume that the 17 players (Genge, Montoya, Heyes, Wells, Wiese, Van Staden, Martin, Youngs, Ford, Nadolo, Kelly, Moroni, Scott, Murimurivalu and Steward, plus U20 captain JVP and Saumaki) are named, where does that leave Leicester during the internationals? How about this for a 23?
Van Wyk, Youngs, Leatigaga, Green, Snyman, Brink, Reffell, Liebenberg, Wigglesworth, Burns, Potter, Socino, Porter, Van Wyk, Hegarty. Repl: Dolly, Whitcombe, Hurd, Henderson, Evans, Law, Lancaster
The backs replacements are decidedly callow, so don’t be surprised if there’s a recall or fresh legs are brought in. From what I am told, Clare in particular is some way from returning and Brink is also on the sidelines.
Tomorrow’s last friendly against the Scarlets features a strong lineup (below) with a clear nod towards selection a week on Saturday.
ELLIS TO LEAD FROM THE FRONT
I can’t think of a more “Leicester” appointment than making Ellis Genge the new captain.
Hard-nosed, popular with team-mates, robust in his play with no little skill and of course, a forward. It was always going to be a forward. Tom Youngs becomes a senior player but is in reality, a lot more than that.
This may be a masterstroke.
BEAR WITH ME
So this is the WRW plan for the season ahead. Basically, I am moving back up to Leicestershire and thanks to the help of some very close friends - some old and new, the process has been a whole lot easier than it might have been.
(One word of advice for all those moving house - find a removals van which doesn’t break down on you.)
The process won’t finish until early October, so time will still be at a premium.
So at least for the first part of the season, it’ll just be one edition per week. I hope you’ll continue to engage with it as much as you did, last season.
Best wishes to Mick Bannister who knows how to take a good picture? He’s currently a little under the weather but we hope to see him fighting fit and at Welford Road with his other half in the near future.
AND ABOUT TIME TOO…
Women will be able to wear a Leicester Tigers shirt as part of a professional team in the very near future and that is something to celebrate.
One of the greatest players Leicestershire has produced in recent years - Emily Scarratt - will play at Welford Road for the first time, once of course she has recovered from her hugely unfortunate broken leg at the weekend.
For Leicester who have never had a women’s team in the past, this is some change of mindset - and investment. Credit to those who have changed minds and opened up possibilities.
A full professional women’s set up
Perhaps some may not appreciate just how big a leap this is going to be.
Because of the lack of infrastructure, Tigers are going to have to set up a brand new pathway at breakneck speed. M’learned colleague Vicky MacQueen will be at the heartbeat of this.
With previous roles with England U20 in the past, her Didi rugby franchise going from strength to strength plus the undoubted analytical skills she’s shown as a summariser , Vicky is in a perfect place to broaden the base of women’s rugby across Leicestershire.
But most importantly, she can also drink very capably indeed.
Tigers’ intervention - especially the partnership with Lichfield and not Loughborough - is fascinating. The trend towards Premiership teams having men’s and women’s teams is not slackening off anytime soon, so with 14 teams in the Premiership after next season, you wonder whether 10 will be enough in the Premier 15s.
An expansion to 12 or even 14 clubs seems a possibility when the next round of franchises are allocated in 2023 - though a decision is surely due in the summer or autumn of 2023.
There are 9 Premiership clubs, plus Darlington Mowden Park and Loughborough there already. DMP Sharks’ 84-0 thumping at Gloucester-Hartpury hardly bodes confidence they will be able to hold onto their franchise.
Bath, London Irish and Ealing are keen to get in, but it looks tight now for Northampton and Newcastle to run teams of their own in time. So that leaves 13 Premiership teams and…Loughborough?
The vision of seeing top-level women’s professional games being played at Welford Road will become a reality, soon. It’s about time but by God, this is good news.
TWELVE MONTHS TO SAVE RUGBY UNION?
The thought struck me the other week - what state is the game in?
Two reasons why:
The Lions series can safely be seen now as one of the biggest damp squibs of recent years. Having watched the Lions Tests now, there was such a lack of vision in the way the game was played - and no little animosity.
If it wasn’t the repetitive and unimaginative manner in which both Lions and Springboks’ set out their style of play, it was the fractiousness off it. From Rassie Erasmus publishing his outrageous burst of ego (for which he should be furiously raked over the coals), then it was the unwillingness of the Lions to be more flexible about the schedule. Or the regions’ lack of desire to select full-strength teams against the Lions.
With no fans there either and players barely allowed out of their hotel, why did we even bother?
This was a disaster of a tour, which only served to highlight the sport’s weaknesses to an even wider audience.
The second refers to the Hundred and everybody is trying to draft an article following that tournament’s impact, which shows you that it made waves.
Now I am very sceptical about the claims of revolution being made by the ECB. The lack of promotion of any other form of cricket was quite startling.
But the Hundred seems to have worked at least to some extent. It is still bat against ball, whatever the fancy graphics. might indicate.
Rugby union is not on its own, looking for the new audience. At least from here, the supporter base remains overwhelmingly white, middle-aged and largely middle-class, especially in the South. The challenge to keep kids interested, is a similar task faced across the world.
What the World 12s is really all about
Which leads me to the World 12s.
You can question the overall proposal but there is a germ of an idea which should not be dismissed here.
When a sport cannot run itself, it leaves itself open to outside operators, like private equity or if you want to go back a few years, Kerry Packer in cricket and very nearly in rugby union back in 1995.
Rugby union cannot find a way forward together - whether the scale is national (RFU v Clubs) or international (Six Nations v The Rest). Perhaps because its background as a sport is defined by the way it has excluded others for so many years, perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised.
If rugby cannot rip up the history book a la Dead Poets’ Society, then maybe we should expect more entrepreneurs to come forward, with cheque books and ideas.
The challenge is not what they will bring to the table. It’s what the game can do for itself to make more of the potential it still has.
Does League have the answer?
The thirteen-man game - where many a union idea has formed - is having a serious battle to stay afloat. Remember they were the sport which first got a government bailout too.
Listen to Adam Pearson, owner of Hull FC and one-time commercial man at Leeds United on the BBC Rugby League podcast a few weeks ago. If it wasn’t the pandemic hitting them hard, Australia’s withdrawal from their World Cup later this year was the added insult.
Rugby league is currently overhauling its governance with Super League merging with the Rugby Football League. It will then seek a private equity investment but it is also looking at a pint-sized format similar to the Hundred and before that, t20. There are real fears though that rugby league could soon go part-time without drastic action.
But crucially Pearson lets slip that they are working on a shortened format of rugby league from around 21.29 onwards. The few hints given away suggests something different to RL nines.
There is a temptation to ignore what happens to league in the same way you ignore your younger sibling’s errant behaviour. But is it not time to consider what they are doing and wonder what we are doing?
Who are the people and the institutions looking to engage with others within rugby union, to drive it forward without self-interest?
The game isn’t dead yet, but it’s in even worse shape if we don’t acknowledge its present position.
Great to be back. Look forward to being with you soon at a rugby game soon.
Just one request - get the word out there please that Welford Road Weekly is back and around every week for the season to come. If you want a look at some of last season’s content, its easily accessible via welfordroadweekly.substack.com.
Chris
PS
You’re delighted to see any player win a first international cap and while Dan Kelly, Freddie Steward and Joe Heyes are all young enough to win 100 caps injury-allowing, wasn’t it fantastic to see Harry Wells make a first senior international appearance? His consistent excellence in a Leicester shirt deserved a reward like this.
Great to see you back and looking forward to your regular inciteful comments.