Leicester confirm 2 signings from Australia, including Wallabies lock Blake Enever
Leicester Tigers have signed Australia international second row Blake Enever and English-qualified, versatile back Harry Potter. The 28-year-old Enever has made more than 50 Super Rugby appearances since his debut in 2012 for then-champions, the Queensland Reds, before moving to Canberra to join the ACT Brumbies in 2015.
He was called up to the national squad and made his Test debut for the Wallabies in 2017 against England at Twickenham. A hard-nosed, physical forward, capable of playing at both lock and in the back row, the 6ft 5in and 116kg Enever will add depth to the Tigers pack and experience at the set-piece.
Speaking about the Australian’s move, Tigers head coach Geordan Murphy said: “Blake is a strong addition to the club ahead of the new season and brings with him a wealth of experience from Super Rugby.
“He’s a big, physical and hard-working player, which is what we want in our pack, and someone our fans should be thrilled to see joining the club. A big, tall lineout caller and strong, physical addition to the scrum, who enjoys the hard stuff in the game in both attack and defence… it’s what you want in a lock!
“In our dealings with Blake so far we have been impressed by him as a young man who will add much more than what he offers on the pitch to our club and that is important to us as we move forward on our journey.”
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Australia international Blake Enever is on his way to the club after agreeing a move to Leicester Tigers from Super Rugby side the ACT Brumbies.
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— Leicester Tigers (@LeicesterTigers) June 24, 2020
Enever added: “Coming over to the UK and being a part of Premiership rugby while representing a club of Leicester’s standing is an exciting prospect,” he said. “Tigers has proven to be one of the strongest clubs in the UK and the opportunity to be a part of a club like Leicester is great.”
Enever joins Cyle Brink, Shalva Mamukashvili, Cameron Henderson and Oliver Chessum as additions to the forward pack, with Potter joining Nemani Nadolo, Matt Scott and Zack Henry as fresh Tigers backline options.
Potter, the 22-year-old who is capable of playing in the midfield and outside backs, was born in London and lived in the UK for a decade before his family emigrated to Melbourne. He previously represented NSW Country Eagles and Melbourne Rising in Australia’s National Rugby Championship before signing a professional contract with the Rebels in 2019.
Since 2016, Potter has appeared for Sydney University in the Shute Shield competition under the guidance of incoming Tigers attack coach Rob Taylor and played a starring role in the club’s back-to-back Premiership title-winning campaigns.
“Harry is a very talented young man who we are extremely excited about adding to our group here in Leicester,” said Leicester boss Murphy. “At only 22, he has a promising future ahead of him in the game and we are confident he will only continue to improve in our environment, while adding to our club.
“He is equally as impressive off the pitch as he is on it and in our conversations with him ahead of arriving, he’s shown a willingness to want to be a part of our journey.”
Potter added: “It was a whirlwind really, over about a week, before it was proposed and then I agreed to the move to Leicester. “I spoke to the coaches and was really impressed with the way they intend to run the club moving forward and it didn’t take much of a conversation to know Leicester Tigers is going to rise again.
“Coming over to the Premiership has always been something I wanted to do. I was so inspired by what I heard in chats with the club and what is ahead for Leicester Tigers, it was too good an opportunity to pass on.
“It sounds like it has been a tough couple of seasons for the club but the right people are leading the way and it’s clear that with hard work and commitment to the plans in place, Tigers are heading in the right direction.”
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English-qualified, versatile back Harry Potter will join Leicester Tigers from Super Rugby side the Melbourne Rebels.
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— Leicester Tigers (@LeicesterTigers) June 24, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments