'Immense leader on the p***': Ex-teammate's Genge captaincy quip

Steve Borthwick's decision this past week to make Ellis Genge the new Leicester Tigers club captain has been warmly welcomed by Sam Harrison, the scrum-half who quit playing in January 2020 to embark on a new life away from rugby in Australia. 

It was during their week-long pre-season camp in Jersey when Leicester confirmed that Genge would take over the captaincy from the long-serving Tom Youngs and it prompted a reaction from Harrison that the loosehead retweeted on his own social media account. 

"So happy to see @EllisGenge announced as @LeicesterTigers skips. Immense leader on the pitch. Immense leader on the piss. Boys will be in compulsory Dsquared and Stone Island post-match in no time. @TomYoungs87 has been absolutely immense in his time as captain also."

Harrison's opinion promoted a response from a number of Leicester fans, including one who quipped: "Congrats but isn’t it a bit like letting a child organise a fireworks display or Hannibal Lecter being given the keys to the jail or even The Krays organising a night out in London on a Saturday? Just saying..."

The ex-scrum-half, though, quickly jumped to his old pal's defence, insisting the decision to give Genge the captaincy will have only a positive impact in the Leicester dressing room. 

"Far from it," replied Harrison. "Only time will tell but Gengey has a natural ability to bring together a whole changing room like no one else. I am genuinely very excited to watch Tigers this year. And Ellis being captain only adds to it!"

Genge himself tweeted his delight at getting the honour of skippering his club following a summer where England boss Eddie Jones appointed him as vice-captain for the July Test matches versus the USA and Canada.

"Thanks for all the kind messages," he wrote. "I’ve learnt a lot off of younger in the past five seasons that will help me along this path. I will give everything I have to add to the great history of this club, on and off the field."

After announcing the change to the Leicester leadership group, Borthwick said: “Ellis epitomises what we, Leicester Tigers, are about – hard work, toughness and a desire to continue to improve. He has set the example in everything that he does on and off the pitch since I arrived at Tigers and possesses a great ability to bring people together."