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Outspoken player welfare advocate Ellis Genge to skipper Leicester for first time

By Online Editors
(Photo by Andy Kearns/CameraSport via Getty Images)

Outspoken player welfare advocate Ellis Genge will be happy his opinions during the lockdown have certainly not damaged his standing at Leicester, as he will captain the club for the first time when they visit Wasps in the Gallagher Premiership on Wednesday.

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The England loosehead had spent the initial part of the 2019/20 season’s suspension putting together plans for a new players union, Rugby Players Epoch.

However, he became disillusioned with the laborious challenge of having to individually negotiate with all 13 stakeholder Premiership clubs and shelved the idea on June 19, just weeks before the turmoil which existed across the top-flight game in England filtered down into the Leicester set-up.

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Amid rancour over the temporary 25 per cent pay cut becoming permanent, Manu Tuilagi, Telusa Veainu, Noel Reid, Greg Bateman and Kyle Eastmond all quit the Tigers. By July 8, though, Genge has secured a contract extension at the club after he agreed to the proposed salary reduction. 

Now, nine weeks later, Genge will skipper Leicester for the first time in what will be his 74th appearance for the club. He is joined by Jake Kerr and Nephi Leatigaga in the front row.

Cameron Henderson makes his first starting appearance at lock after arriving at the club in the summer and will partner Blake Enever in the second row. In the back row, Ollie Chessum is named at blindside, Thom Smith at openside and Jordan Coghlan at No8.

Zack Henry starts at fly-half in his fourth appearance for Tigers, partnering Ben White at half-backs. Guy Porter is included at centre alongside Dan Kelly in his first start, with Harry Simmons and Harry Potter on the wings and George Worth at full-back.

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Leicester boss Steve Borthwick said: “With a short turnaround, we have made changes and provided opportunities for some players who did not feature against Sale. Ellis will captain the club for the first time and has been brilliant in the build-up this week, leading the group.

“This group of players have earned the privilege of representing the club on Wednesday and, with all Tigers teams, need to deliver a performance the club and our supporters are proud of.”

Fresh from their win at 2019 champions Saracens, high-flying Wasps welcome back Kieran Brookes from the shoulder injury he sustained in the first restart game last month against Northampton.

Newly promoted first-team squad member, 19-year-old Alfie Barbeary, is named at blindside for his first Premiership start, and there is one potential Wasps debutant in the 23 as new signing Levi Douglas is named as a replacement. 

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Charlie Atkinson, who was on the receiving end of the red-carded Owen Farrell tackle at Allianz Park, doesn’t feature.

WASPS: 15. Matteo Minozzi; 14. Zach Kibirige, 13. Malakai Fekitoa, 12. Ryan Mills, 11. Marcus Watson; 10. Jacob Umaga, 9. Dan Robson; 1. Tom West, 2. Gabriel Oghre, 3. Kieran Brookes, 4. Joe Launchbury (capt), 5. James Gaskell, 6. Alfie Barbeary, 7. Thomas Young, 8. Brad Shields. Reps: 16. Tom Cruse, 17. Simon McIntyre, 18. Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 19. Levi Douglas, 20. Jack Willis, 21. Sam Wolstenholme, 22. Jimmy Gopperth, 23. Sam Spink.

LEICESTER: 15. George Worth; 14. Harry Potter, 13. Dan Kelly, 12. Guy Porter, 11. Harry Simmons; 10. Zack Henry, 9. Ben White; 1. Ellis Genge (capt), 2. Jake Kerr, 3. Nephi Leatigaga, 4. Cameron Henderson, 5. Blake Enever, 6. Ollie Chessum, 7. Thom Smith, 8. Jordan Coghlan. Reps: 16. Charlie Clare, 17. Facundo Gigena, 18. Joe Heyes, 19. Harry Wells, 20. Sam Lewis, 21. Ben Youngs, 22. Johnny McPhillips, 23. Andrew Forsyth.

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Bull Shark 50 minutes 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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