Leicester exodus continues as Tigers confirm 21 players set to depart the club
Leicester Tigers have revealed a long list of players who will be leaving the club at the end of the season as the Premiership side prepare for life under incoming head coach Steve Borthwick.
Former England captain Borthwick takes over from long-serving Geordan Murphy in July, with Murphy set to move into the position of director of rugby.
And it looks as though Borthwick will be working with a new-look Leicester squad following today’s announcement that eight more players will be moving on.
Winger Adam Thompstone is one of the most notable name on the list, and is joined by fellow backs EW Viljoen and Joe Thomas.
Forwards Tatafu Polota-Nau, Gaston Cortes, Sione Kalamafoni, Owen Hills and Will Spencer will also be leaving the club when their contracts end at the conclusion of the 2019/20 season.
Last month the club confirmed that Guy Thompson would also be leaving, while scrum-half Sam Harrison left in January.
England star Jonny May is returning to Gloucester after three seasons with Tigers while Jonah Holmes has been released from the final year of his contract so he can return to play in Wales.
“We thank each of our departing senior players for all they have contributed to the club, on and off the pitch,” said Murphy.
“In their own way, over their own different periods of time, they have all added to the history of Leicester.
“They enter an exclusive group of ‘Droglites’ and will forever be able to say they represented this proud club.”
Defence coach Phil Blake is also moving on following his second stint with the club.
“Phil is a passionate, driven coach who arrived into our environment midway through last season and hit the ground running, leading our defence,” Murphy said.
? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ????
Geordan Murphy has confirmed the members of the Leicester Tigers squad and coach who will depart the club when their contracts end at the conclusion of the 2019/20 season.
See it here ?? https://t.co/isNuWS8oi3 pic.twitter.com/msgs6czAFS
— Leicester Tigers ???? ???? ? (@LeicesterTigers) May 4, 2020
“The club is grateful to him for his efforts and we all wish him the best in the next chapter of his coaching career.
“We have an exciting group of players from all over the rugby world joining Tigers ahead of the next campaign who we believe to be important additions to our group,” Murphy added.
“There is no overnight fix for what has been another disappointing campaign, we are not hiding from that fact.
“Those players we have signed and our existing squad members who have renewed their contracts and committed to this journey, as well as our Under-18s making the step up ahead of next season, are all part of our long-term vision for Leicester Tigers.
If you look at their metres per second times, this is no foregone conclusion. https://t.co/0xWhF59uRY
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 4, 2020
“Getting the balance right in the modern game is no easy feat but I am pleased with the squad we have assembled and am looking forward to working hard together with our new-look coaching staff to get the best out of the group.
“We have every bit of confidence in what we are building and faith in the group that will represent Tigers from next season and beyond.
“This is another step on the journey and it’s not going to be easy … it is going to be built on hard work, putting ourselves under necessary pressure and seeing a squad-wide commitment, despite what anybody outside of our club says or thinks, to deliver the results that are expected of a Leicester Tigers team.”
Development Squad members Kyran Bungaroo, Sam Eveleigh, Leo Gilliland, Cameron Jordan and Keston Lines will also leave Tigers.
Comments on RugbyPass
It was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf 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.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to comments