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'I like having a bit of a changing room flare up before the game'

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

New Leicester skipper Ellis Genge has opened up about the style of captaincy he will be bringing to the Tigers’ inner sanctum after Steve Borthwick decided that the prop was the best option to lead the club in the new 2021/22 Gallagher Premiership season. Genge learned of his appointment last month and he is eager to show he is the right material to lead after a summer where he was vice-captain with England.  

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Asked to describe his style, he told the weekly Leicester media briefing: “There are walkers and talkers, sayers and doers and I am probably more the latter in terms of a bit more of a doer. I will lead by actions as opposed to words. I mean, I like having a bit of a changing room flare up before the game but that is nothing new to the boys, I have done that before having the armband so.”

Genge added that he never imagined he would be given such an honour at Leicester but added it doesn’t bring any perks and that everyone at the club is still treating him the same way they did before Borthwick reckoned he was the perfect fit to succeed the long-serving Tom Youngs as skipper.

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“I get a gold-plated number plate,” he quipped. “No mate, not much changes actually in day to day life. Everyone is treating me the same, which is brilliant. Just a few more memes and a few more conversations with the management and staff, which is a work in progress.

“I have always been told that I am (captaincy material) but I have never sort of envisioned myself to be captain at a club with so much history or vice-captain with England in the summer. It’s nothing that had crossed my mind but without sounding too cliched, these days you have 15 leaders on the pitch at all times. 

“Obviously some young lads need a bit more steering than the others but you have usually got five or six big personalities in the team, so something that is probably a strength of mind is finding the balance between who is doing what job and who is best in what role,” he continued ahead of next Saturday’s league opener at home to Exeter following a pre-season that included a jaunt to the Channel Islands. 

“The Jersey trip was good,” he assured. “We didn’t have any big piss-ups or anything like that but we had a few meals and spent a bit more time with each other away from the field which has been really hard with Covid. Are we a lot tighter? I don’t know. It’s a tricky question. You’re asking me to go into the intricacies of how everyone thinks. I don’t know, boys might hate me. It’s everyone’s personal opinion, isn’t it? We’re doing well. The pre-season has been good. I’m looking forward to playing against Exeter.

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“Everyone thinks they have had an amazing pre-season until the first game and I have been part of a Tigers team that has done that a few times, thought that they had a great pre-season, got to the first game and found out a bit about ourselves. We have worked hard, trying to get back to the Tigers way I guess, sort of find our DNA and keep hammering away at that. I’m enjoying being a part of it.”

Leicester finished last season in sixth spot in what was Borthwick’s first full season in charge and they were also Challenge Cup final runners-up, but Genge believed those placings weren’t reflective enough of the work put in. “The results don’t reflect what we were doing last year because every game was probably within seven, ten points which is one score and there are no medals for second place in this industry. If you almost win doesn’t count, unfortunately. We’ll be better this year and try to eradicate those errors and really clinch teams out.”

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Adrian 43 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

6 Go to comments
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Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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