Leicester Tigers

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Leicester Tigers

Full name

Leicester Football Club

Founded

1880

Location

Leicester, England

Ground

Welford Road

Capacity

16,815

Chairman

Peter Tom

Coach

Pat Howard

League

Guinness Premiership

2005-06

2nd





Home colours





Away colours

Official website

www.tigers.co.uk

Leicester Football Club (nicknamed Leicester Tigers) is an English rugby union club that plays in the Guinness Premiership. The club has been the most successful English club of the professional era, winning the Heineken Cup twice and the league five times under the captaincy of Martin Johnson, all in the space of 7 years.

[edit] History

At a meeting in the George Hotel in 1880, Leicester Football Club was formed as a merger of three smaller teams: Leicester Societies AFC, Leicester Amateur FC, and Leicester Alert. That October, the new club wore black for their first game against Moseley at the Belgrave Cricket and Cycle Ground.

They moved to their present ground at Welford Road, Leicester in 1892. They won the Midlands Cup eight times in a row, from 1898 to 1905, before dropping out “to give other teams a chance”.

The origin of Tigers nickname is uncertain, although it is of long standing. It may have come from the Leicestershire Regiment which acquired the nickname after serving in India. An alternative theory is that the team wore a brown and yellow striped shirt in the past. This differs from most rugby teams such as Newcastle Falcons, Sale Sharks, and Leeds Tykes who adopted nicknames after the advent of professionalism to aid marketability. In their early years, they were also known as "The Death or Glory Boys". Leicester started using letters to identify their forwards in the 1926/27 season, by 1931/32 they were used to identify the whole team.

Leicester started to grow as a club towards the end of the 1970s. At the start of the decade, the club had just 600-700 members and gates were less than 1,000. By 1980, the Tigers had reached their first cup final, and the club was on its way towards a substantial period of growth.

Supporters and players alike ascribed this turn in attitude to Chalkie White, who came to Leicester in 1968. He was a very progressive coach who demanded high standards of fitness and tactics. His unique style of coaching brought success on the pitch, and with that success came increased attendances.

During 1970s the team played in front of a packed stadium during the annual Boxing Day Barbarians event (in contrast with the usual 750-2,000 spectators). This game still takes place each year; however it is no longer played on Boxing day as Leicester now play a league game near that date.

During this period Leicester reached five Cup finals losing the first in 1978 to Gloucester, winning the next three against Moseley (15-12), London Irish (21-9) and Gosforth (22-15). This meant they were allowed to keep the trophy. The fifth final was a loss to Bristol in 1983.

In the 1980s, the club still enjoyed the benefits of amateur rugby with nights away and Easter tours; but off the pitch, Tigers took their first steps towards corporate sponsorship. Tigers were England’s first official champions when they beat Waterloo on the last day of the 1987/88 season.

In the 1990s, Leicester began one of the greatest winning streaks of any team. This streak started when a young pack helped Leicester to defeat Harlequins 23-16 in the 1993 cup final. They were English champions again in 1995, won the Pilkington Cup in 1997 (9-3 against Sale) and were the first English team to get to the Heineken Cup final before losing to Brive in the same year. In the 1996 cup final, Tigers lost to Bath (which was just finishing its own great domination of English rugby) after Steve Lander gave a contentious penalty try to in the last minute which sealed their victory. After the match Neil Back pushed over Lander landing himself a six month ban. Then from 1999 to 2002, under the captaincy of Martin Johnson and the management of Dean Richards, they won four consecutive Premiership titles and the first Zürich Championship play-offs, the final being against rivals Bath, bringing their total of league championships to 6, (tied with Bath for most wins), and the Heineken Cup in 2001, against Stade Francais (34-20), and controversially 2002, against Munster (15-9), becoming the only side, so far, to retain the trophy. Leicester during this time had a very good home record; they went 57 games unbeaten at home in a period that stretched from 30 December 1997 to 30 November 2002 and included 52 successive wins. During these four seasons Leicester lost only 14 games out of the 92 they played.

In the 2003 Rugby World Cup, the club had seven representatives in the winning England squad: Martin Johnson (captain), Neil Back, Martin Corry, Ben Kay, Lewis Moody, Dorian West and Julian White. However whilst these players were away Leicester's form suffered and they were 11th in the league and dumped out of the Heineken cup in the group stages when they decided to sack Dean Richards who had been Director of Rugby for the four consecutive league wins and Heinekin Cup double.

In the 2004 New Year honours, the England coach Clive Woodward, who had played for Leicester from 1979 to 1985, received a knighthood (KBE), Martin Johnson received an CBE and the other World Cup players, MBEs.

In John Wells' first full season in charge of the team Leicester finished the regular season top of the league, also progressing to the semi-final of the Heineken cup before defeat to Toulouse at the Walkers Stadium. In Martin Johnson and Neil Back's last game for Leicester they lost the Premiership Final to Wasps. After this game John Wells left Leicester to take up a position in the RFU's coaching academy, eventually rising to England forwards coach.

In 2005-6, the Tigers finished second to the Sale Sharks in the league before losing to the same team in the Premiership final. They again proceded to the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup, again they lost at the Walkers Stadium this time to Bath. In the new Anglo-Welsh Cup Leicester won their group but lost in the semi-finals to Wasps at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Over the summer of 2006, they added a number of promising forwards especially Jordan Crane, the Number 8, who arrived from Leeds Tykes with a good reputation following the U21 World Cup in France.

Leicester are one of only four teams never to have been relegated from the top, and also hold the distinction of competeing in every Heineken Cup and never having finished a league season below 6th position.

[edit] Welford Road

The club plays its home games at Welford Road Stadium, the address of which is actually Aylestone Road. The ground was opened in 1892 and the first stands accommodated 1100 spectators. The Members' and Crumbie Stands were built after WW1. The Alliance and Leicester Stand was opened at the Welford Road end in 1995. The total ground capacity is about 17,000.

As of 2006, the stadium has hosted eight international games. It hosted games during both the 1991 and 1999 Rugby Union World Cups.

[1] [2]

[edit] Future stadium developments

On 23 November 2004, the club announced that it had entered into a 50-50 joint venture with the city's main football club, Leicester City F.C., to purchase City's current ground, Walkers Stadium. If the purchase had gone through, the Tigers would have surrendered their lease on Welford Road and moved into Walkers Stadium. [3] However, after several months of talks, the two clubs could not agree as to which side would have priority at Walkers Stadium, and they ended any groundshare plans in July 2005. The Tigers now intend to purchase Welford Road outright, plus some surrounding land, and expand the ground (pending planning approval). [4]

[edit] Premiership playoffs

In the last two seasons Leicester have finished in the playoffs of the Premiership, finishing first in 2004-5 and second in 2005-6. On both occasions they reached the final at Twickenham and lost - in 2005 to London Wasps and in 2006 to Sale Sharks.

[edit] 2006-07 Guinness Premiership Season Results and Fixtures

This article or section contains information about a future sporting event or team.
It is likely to contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the event approaches and more information becomes available.

3 September Leicester Tigers (1 BP) 35–23 Sale Sharks, Welford Road, Leicester
9 September Bath Rugby (1 BP) 43–25 Leicester Tigers, Recreation Ground, Bath
16 September Leicester Tigers 27–27 Gloucester, Welford Road, Leicester
23 September Harlequins (1 BP) 15–21 Leicester Tigers, The Stoop, London
14 October Northampton Saints (1BP) 10–15 Leicester Tigers, Franklin's Gardens, Northampton
4 November Leicester Tigers (1BP) 40–21 Worcester Warriors, Welford Road, Leicester
12 November Saracens 22–16 (1BP) Leicester Tigers, Vicarage Road, Watford
18 November Leicester Tigers 26–18 London Irish Welford Road, Leicester
26 November Wasps (1BP) 13–19 Leicester Tigers, Adams Park, High Wycombe
22 December Leicester Tigers (1BP) 43–15 Bristol ,Welford Road, Leicester
26 December London Irish 26–25 (2BP) Leicester Tigers, Madejski Stadium, Reading
1 January Leicester Tigers (1BP) 28–15 Saracens Welford Road, Leicester
7 January Newcastle Falcons 31–29 (1BP) Leicester Tigers, Kingston Park, Newcastle
27 January Leicester Tigers (1BP) 39–5 Newcastle Falcons Welford Road, Leicester
17 February Worcester Warriors (1BP) 6–13 Leicester Tigers, Sixways Stadium, Worcester
24 February Leicester Tigers (1BP) 9–10 Northampton Saints Welford Road, Leicester
3 March Leicester Tigers 27–22 (1BP) Harlequins Welford Road, Leicester
11 March Gloucester 28–24 (2BP) Leicester Tigers, Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester
17 March Leicester Tigers (1BP) 29–25 (1BP) Bath Rugby Welford Road, Leicester
6 April Sale Sharks – Leicester Tigers, Edgeley Park, Stockport
15 April Bristol – Leicester Tigers, Ashton Gate, Bristol
28 April Leicester Tigers – Wasps, Welford Road, Leicester

[edit] Semi-finals

5/6 May TBC – TBC
5/6 May TBC – TBC

[edit] Final

12/13 May TBC – TBC

[edit] Guinness Premiership Table 2006-07

2006/2007 Guinness Premiership Table

watch · edit · discuss

Club

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Points for

Points against

Bonus points

Points

Gloucester

463

351

Leicester Tigers

390

375

Saracens

473

331

Bristol

333

329

Wasps

416

336

London Irish

333

330

Harlequins

401

388

Bath

364

434

Sale Sharks

364

402

Newcastle Falcons

388

489

Worcester Warriors

291

404

Northampton Saints

279

426

Reference www.guinnesspremiership.com and BBC Sport: Updated 2007-03-25

Leicester were deducted one point for fielding an ineligible player

If teams are level at any stage, they are ranked by: 1. number of wins 2. league points 3. match points difference 4. match points for 5. head-to-head record.

[edit] Other Competitions Results

EDF ENERGY CUP

30 September Leicester Tigers (1BP) Newport Gwent Dragons, Welford Road, Leicester
7 October Worcester Warriors 20–35 (1BP) Leicester Tigers, Sixways Stadium, Worcester
2 December Northampton Saints 18–5 Leicester Tigers, Franklin's Gardens, Northampton

Leicester qualify for the Semi Finals having come first place in their group.
24 March Leicester Tigers 29–19 Sale Sharks, Millenium Stadium, Cardiff

Final

15 April Leicester Tigers – Ospreys, Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham

FRIENDLY

11 February Leicester Tigers 21–41 Argentina, Welford Road, Leicester.
18 March Leicester Tigers 1996 45–15 Bath Rugby 1996, Welford Road, Leicester.

[edit] Heineken Cup

The quarterfinals are seeded from 1 to 8. The six pool winners receive the top six seeds, based on their point totals. The top two second-place finishers are seeded 7 and 8.

Fixtures are subject to late change. All times are local to the game site.

Key to colours
	Winner of each pool, plus two highest-ranked second-place teams, advance to quarterfinals
	Still at least mathematically in contention for quarterfinals
	Cannot now qualify

[edit] Pool 4

Team	Pld	W	L	TF	PF	PA	+/-	BP	Pts
Leicester Tigers (4)	6	5	1	22	172	60	+112	3	23
Munster (7)	6	5	1	16	152	112	+40	3	23
Cardiff Blues	6	2	4	8	87	138	-51	1	9
Bourgoin	6	0	6	13	95	196	-101	4	4

Notes:

Leicester Tigers win the pool on the second tiebreaker of head-to-head tries, 3-2.

Results - Round 1

15:00 2006-10-22
	Leicester Tigers	19–21	Munster	Welford Road Attendance: 16,815 Referee: Nigel Owens
	Tries: Penalty try Con: Andy Goode Pen: Paul Burke (2), Andy Goode (2)		Tries: Donncha O'Callaghan, David Wallace Con: Ronan O'Gara Pen: Ronan O'Gara (2) Drop: Ronan O'Gara

Round 2

15:00 2006-10-29
	Cardiff Blues	17–21	Leicester Tigers	Millennium Stadium Attendance: 26,645 Referee: Alan Lewis
	Tries: Nick Robinson, Chris Czekaj Con: Ben Blair (2) Pen: Ben Blair		Tries: Ollie Smith, Tom Varndell Con: Andy Goode Pen: Andy Goode (2) Drop goals: Sam Vesty

Round 3

20:30 2006-12-08
	Bourgoin	13–28	Leicester Tigers	Stade Pierre Rajon Attendance: 7,200 Referee: Nigel Whitehouse
	Tries: Benoît Cabello, Jean-François Coux Pen: Benjamin Boyet		Tries: Geordan Murphy, Tom Varndell, Martin Corry Con: Andy Goode (2) Pen: Andy Goode (3)

Round 4

14:45 2006-12-16
	Leicester Tigers	57–3	Bourgoin	Welford Road Attendance: 16,000 Referee: Alain Rolland
	Tries: Lewis Moody (3), Harry Ellis, Shane Jennings (2), Daryl Gibson, Tom Varndell Con: Andy Goode (7) Pen: Andy Goode		Pen: Sebastien Laloo

Round 5

15:00 2007-01-13
	Leicester Tigers	34–0	Cardiff Blues	Welford Road Attendance: 16,815 Referee: Alain Rolland
	Tries: Alesana Tuilagi, Dan Hipkiss, Daryl Gibson, Seru Rabeni, Lewis Moody, Martin Corry Con: Ian Humphreys (2)

Round 6

17:35 2007-01-20
	Munster	6–13	Leicester Tigers	Thomond Park Attendance: 13,200 Referee: Joël Jutge
	Pen: Ronan O'Gara (2)		Tries: Geordan Murphy, Ollie Smith Pen: Ian Humphreys

Quarter-finals

30 March-1 April

Biarritz (1st seed) v Northampton Saints (8th seed)
Llanelli Scarlets (2nd seed) v Munster (7th seed)
London Wasps (3rd seed) v Leinster (6th seed)
Leicester Tigers (4th seed) v Stade Français (5th seed)

Results

Locations tentative.

TBD
	Biarritz	–	Northampton Saints	Estadio Anoeta Attendance: Referee: TBD

TBD
	Llanelli Scarlets	–	Munster	Stradey Park Attendance: Referee: TBD

TBD
	London Wasps	–	Leinster	Adams Park Attendance: Referee: TBD

TBD
	Leicester Tigers	–	Stade Français	Welford Road Attendance: Referee: TBD

[edit] Players

[edit] 2006-2007 ins and outs

IN: Marcos Ayerza (prop - Argentina), Paul Burke (fly-half, Munster), Martin Castrogiovanni (prop - Calvisano, Italy), Jordan Crane (number eight - Leeds), Gavin Hickie (hooker - Worcester), Frank Murphy (scrum-half - Munster) Ian Humphreys (fly-half - Ulster).

OUT: Ross Broadfoot (fly-half - Bedford), Alex Dodge (centre - Nottingham), Austin Healey (scrum-half - retired), Will Johnson (flanker - Coventry), Daniel Montagu (number eight - Nottingham), Darren Morris (prop - Worcester), John Rawson (prop - released), Will Skinner (flanker - Harlequins), Ephraim Taukafa (hooker - released), Anitelia Tuilagi (centre/wing - Leeds, season loan), Brent Wilson (flanker - Newcastle), Alex Wright (scrum-half - released).

[edit] Current England elite squad

[edit] Other internationals

[edit] Current 'A' and 'Saxons' internationals

[edit] Notable former internationals

Garry Adey (England)
Neil Back (England and Lions)
Richard Cockerill (England)
Les Cusworth (England)
Paul Dodge (England and Lions)
Perry Freshwater (England)
Will Greenwood (England and Lions)
Darren Garforth (England)
Dusty Hare (England and Lions)
Austin Healey (England and Lions)
Pat Howard (Australia)
Fritz van Heerden (South Africa)
Martin Johnson (England and Lions)
Craig Joiner (Scotland)
Josh Kronfeld (New Zealand)
Rod Kafer (Australia)
Dave Lougheed (Canada)
Darren Morris (Wales and Lions)
Eric Miller (Ireland and Lions)
Tony O'Reilly (Ireland and Lions)
Alexander Obolensky (England)
Ramiro Pez (Italy)
Steve Redfern (England)
Dean Richards (England and Lions)
Graham Rowntree (England and Lions)
Marcus Rose (England)
Brian Smith (Australia and Ireland)
Winston Stanley (Canada)
Tim Stimpson (England & Lions)
Joel Stransky (South Africa)
Rory Underwood (England and Lions)
Tony Underwood (England and Lions)
John Welborn (Australia)
Peter Wheeler (England and Lions)
Dorian West (England and Lions)
Frank Tournaire (France)
Ephraim Taukafa (Tonga)
Freddie Tuilagi (Samoa)
Waisale Serevi (Fiji)
Clive Woodward (England and Lions)
Nick Youngs (England)

[edit] International captains

J.E. Greenwood (England in 1920)
W.W. Wakefeild (England in 1924)
F.D. Prentice (Lions 1930)
B.C. Gadney (England 1934-36)
D.A. Kendrew (England in 1935)
Peter Wheeler (England 1983-84)
Paul Dodge (England in 1985)
Martin Johnson (England 1999-2003, Lions 1997, 2001)
Neil Back (England)
Dorian West (England)
Martin Corry (England 2005-07)

[edit] Captains

A. E. Brice
A.T. Porter
L. Young
J.G.S. Coleman
W.A. Sheffield
J. Parsons
R.S. Snowden
W.R. Porter
A McKechnie
W.H. Sturges
A.E. Cooke
E. Redman
A.O. Jones
W.J Foreman
J.W. Garner
S. Matthews
R.F. Russell
J.R Watson
P.W. Lawrie
W.J. Allen
W.W. Wakefield
H.L.V. Day
F.D. Prentice
H.D. Greenless
D.J. Norman
R.A. Buckingham
B.C. Gadney
R.J Barr
J.T.W. Berry
H.P. Jerwood
A.C. Towell
W.K.T. Moore
A.D. Bolesworth
J.M. Jenkins
J. Elders
T. Bleasdale
J.S. Swan
C.G. Martin
M.R. Wade
M.J. Harrison
D.J. Matthews
G.G. Willars
K.P. Andrews
John Allen
R.V. Grove
Peter Wheeler
R.S. Money
Bob Rowell
B.P. Hall
Steve Johnson
Ian 'Dosser' Smith
Les Cusworth
Paul Dodge
John Wells
Dean Richards
Martin Johnson
Neil Back/Josh Kronfeld
Martin Corry / *Austin Healey

[edit] Coaches

[edit] 2004-2005 season

John Wells — head coach
- Richard Cockerill — forwards' coach
- Pat Howard — backs' coach
- Neil Back — defensive coach

[edit] 2005-2006 & 2006-2007 season

Pat Howard — head coach & backs' coach
- Richard Cockerill — forwards' coach
- Neil Back and Callum Middleton — defensive coach

[edit] Matt Hampson

Matt Hampson (born 29 November 1984) is a former English rugby prop who became quadriplegic after a scrummaging practice accident for England U21 on 15 March 2005. Hampson's accident happened on Tuesday 15 March 2005 at an England U21 Training session. In what he described as a freak accident, a scrum collapsed in such as way as to break his neck. The rugby community have reacted by auctioning off sports memorabilia and holding benefit matches. Both the senior England and Scotland teams donated their shirts from their senior 2005 six nations match. Despite his injury, Matt remains enthusiastic about rugby.

[edit] Club Honours

Courage League / Allied Dunbar Premiership / Zürich Premiership / Guinness Premiership 1987-88 1994-95 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2004-05 (lost in play-offs)

Zürich Championship 2001

John Player Cup / Pilkington Cup 1979 1980 1981 1993 1997

Heineken Cup 2000-01 2001-02

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Leicester Tigers Homepage
Local Newspaper
Fansite
Leicester Tigers Podcasts
Welford Road Stadium Information & Gallery
Leicester on itsrugby.co.uk

v • d • e Rugby union in England
Federation:	Rugby Football Union
National team:	England • England Saxons • England Sevens • British and Irish Lions
International Competitions:	Rugby World Cup • Six Nations Championship • Heineken Cup • European Challenge Cup • European Shield • Churchill Cup • Rugby World Cup Sevens • IRB Sevens World Series • London Sevens
Domestic Competitions:	Guinness Premiership • EDF Energy Cup • National Division One • National Division Two • National Division Three North • National Division Three South
Guinness Premiership teams:	Bath • Bristol • Gloucester • Harlequins • Leicester Tigers • London Irish • Newcastle Falcons • Northampton Saints • Sale Sharks • Saracens • London Wasps • Worcester Warriors
National Division One teams:	Bedford • Cornish Pirates • Coventry • Doncaster • Exeter Chiefs • Leeds Tykes • London Welsh • Moseley • Newbury • Nottingham • Otley • Pertemps Bees • Plymouth Albion • Rotherham • Sedgley Park • Waterloo

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