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Leicester exodus continues as Tigers confirm 21 players set to depart the club
By Online Editors
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.
“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.
“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.
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Latest Comments
There is this thing going around against Siya Kolisi where they don't want him to be known as the best national captain ever, so they strike him down in ratings permanently whenever they can. They want McCaw and reckons he is the best captain ever. I disagree.
Just like they refuse to see SA as the best team and some have even said that should the Boks win a third WC in a row, they will still not be the best team ever. Even if they win every game between now and the WC. That is some serious hate coming SA's way.
Everyone forget how the McCaw AB's intimidated refs, was always on the wrong side, played on the ground etc. Things they would never have gotten away with today. They may have a better win ratio, but SA build depth, not caring about rank inbetween WC's until this year.
They weren't as bad inbetween as people claim, because non e of their losses was big ones and they almost never faced the strongest Bok team outside of the WC, allowing countries like France and Ireland to rise to the top unopposed.
Rassie is still at it, building more depth, getting more young stars into the fold. By the time he leaves (I hope never) he will leave a very strong Bok side for the next 15- 20 years. Not everyone will play for 20 years, but each year Rassie acknowledge the young stars and get them involved and ready for international rugby.
Not everyone will make it to the WC, but those 51/52 players will compete for those spots for the WC. They will deliver their best. The future of the Boks is in very safe hands. The only thing that bothers me is Rassie's health. If he can overcome it, rugby looks dark for the rest of the rugby world. He is already the greatest coach in WR history. By the time he retires, he will be the biggest legend any sport has ever seen
Go to commentsWas it? I just brought it up in some of my posts to rub it in that the AB last year nearly put 100 on a top 6N side lol
I agree to be honest. The biggest key to me that they might be jadded was none of them had mom performances, or even as good as their last three games.
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