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'This is a personal decision': Ellis Genge to leave Leicester
By Liam Heagney
Leicester have been rocked by the revelation that England prop Ellis Genge will leave the Tigers at the end of the 2021/22 season after the club captain decided not to activate an option in his current contract to remain on with the current Gallagher Premiership leaders. He will become the second high profile player to leave next summer as out-half George Ford has already decided he won't be around for the 2022/23 season and will instead play for Sale.
It is expected Genge will now sign for Bristol, although there was a rumour last month linking him to Saracens. A Leicester statement read: "Tigers can confirm that Ellis Genge has indicated to the club that he will not be activating an option in his contract to remain beyond the current season.
"The 26-year-old has made 96 appearances for Tigers since his debut during the 2015/16 campaign as a loan signing from his hometown, Bristol. The loosehead prop received a call up to the national squad in 2016 after making the move to Leicester, gaining his first Test cap in May against Wales.
"Genge joined the club on a permanent basis ahead of the 2016/17 season and was appointed club-captain ahead of the current campaign, replacing Tom Youngs in the role."
Leicester boss Steve Borthwick said: “This is a personal decision for Ellis, which I know has not been easy for him. While disappointed, we respect his reasons for choosing to depart at the season’s end.
"It has been a great privilege of mine to work with Ellis over the past five years, first with England and even more closely since I joined the club. We have a long way to go this season and Ellis is fully committed to finishing his time at Leicester Tigers in the same professional, passionate way he has during his six seasons at the club.”
Genge added: “I will be forever grateful for what this club has given me. I have created lifelong friendships and learned a great deal. The club has been amazing in understanding my reasons for this decision and I will continue to give everything I have got for the boys and the fans of Leicester Tigers for the rest of this season.”
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Latest Comments
SCW really dislikes Eddie, doesn't he?
His words in 2019 before the RWC final that he now says should have resulted in Eddie's firing:
"Was Saturday’s sensational World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand England’s greatest ever performance? Yes, unquestionably, would be my answer."
So let's fire the coach one game later? Duh!
Go to commentsIreland have every right to back themselves for a win. But the key variable has little to do with recent record etc.
The reality is that Ireland are a settled team with tons of continuity, an established style, and a good depth chart, whereas NZ are fundamentally rebuilding. The questions are all about what Razor is doing and how far along he is in that program.
NZ are very close to really clicking. Against England all of the chatter is about how England could have closed out a win, but failed to do so. This has obscured the observation that NZ were by far the more creative and effective in attack, beyond the 3-1 try differential and disallowed tries. They gave away a lot of unnecessary penalties, and made many simple errors (including knock-ons and loose kicks). Those things are very fixable, and when they do so we are once again going to be staring at a formidable NZ team.
Last week we heard the England fans talking confidently about their chances against NZ, but England did not end up looking like the better team on the field or the scoreboard. The England defense was impressive enough, but still could not stop the tries.
Ireland certainly has a better chance, of course, but NZ is improving fast, and I would not be surprised at a convincing All Black win this week. It may turn on whether NZ can cut out the simple mistakes.
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