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Pollard one of five changes as Leicester look to cure away day blues

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

Richard Wigglesworth has made five changes to his starting XV, including a recall for Springboks World Cup winner Handre Pollard, as Leicester go in search of a first away win under their new head coach following successive heavy losses on the road at Sale and Newcastle. Having last month succeeded new England boss Steve Borthwick as the main man at the Tigers, the new era under their former scrum-half has struggled so far to ignite.

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Wigglesworth’s maiden match in charge was a come-from-behind Premiership win over Gloucester at home on Christmas Eve but Leicester have since lost their way, losing 5-40 and 26-45 in recent weeks in the north of England.

They are on their travels again this weekend, this time visiting France for their Friday night Heineken Champions Cup clash with Clermont, and Wigglesworth has opted to alter half of the pack that started last time out at the Falcons.

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James Whitcombe and Joe Heyes are named at prop, with James Cronin dropping to the bench and Dan Cole missing out altogether. Cameron Henderson is promoted from the bench at lock in place of Calum Green while another of the Kingston Park subs, Sean Jansen, is at No8 in place of Hanro Liebenberg.

There is only one backline change, the inclusion of Pollard at out-half, but his naming has caused positional alterations elsewhere in the Leicester ranks.

Charlie Atkinson, last Saturday’s starting No10, has switched to full-back, forcing the move of Freddie Steward to right wing where Harry Potter drops out of the starting side to the bench. Ben Youngs captains the side in his 74th Champions Cup appearance for Leicester, equalling Geordan Murphy as the club’s most-capped player in Europe’s top tier.

Leicester (vs Clermont, Friday)
15. Charlie Atkinson [8]
14. Freddie Steward (vc) [65]
13. Matt Scott [55]
12. Dan Kelly [49]
11. Harry Simmons [27]
10. Handre Pollard [2]
9. Ben Youngs (c) [292]
1. James Whitcombe [32]
2. Charlie Clare [66]
3. Joe Heyes [112]
4. Harry Wells [169]
5. Cameron Henderson [25]
6. Ollie Chessum [41]
7. Tommy Reffell (vc) [89]
8. Sean Jansen [13]

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Replacements:
16. Joe Taufete’e [4]
17. James Cronin [9]
18. Will Hurd [16]
19. Olly Cracknell [12]
20. Emeka Ilione [7]
21. Jack van Poortvliet [58]
22. Jimmy Gopperth [7]
23. Harry Potter [54]

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B
Bull Shark 23 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 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. I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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