I don’t know about you but I have to say that I’m pretty excited to see what Leicester Tigers are going to put out on the park this season. I mean have you thought about their potential back line if all of their players are fit and available? Of course you have and it's world class!
While last season had its fair amount of turbulence what should now follow is a period of stability and my goodness me if they get it right then there’s no questioning the fact that the Tigers have the potential to go back to being a real Premiership, and European, force to be reckoned with.
History and statistics show you that the club knows how to mix it with the big dogs in in both competitions and while they may have slipped slightly from running the show they remain firmly in the domestic heavyweight category. Last season’s semi-final appearance was point and case and it showed that they know how to duke it out when it matters.
At the heart of their 2017-18 output will be England’s half-back pairing. With Ben Youngs and George Ford playing together week in and week out it will benefit both the Tigers and Eddie Jones’ side greatly because their already strong relationship on the field will become even more instinctive with greater game time together. George Ford's outings in Argentina were head-turning and I firmly believe that there’s plenty more of where that came. His flat to the line approach, outstanding rugby brain and first class decision making should ignite Leicester’s attack in the way that we've been waiting to see from them for a while. Of course having the personnel fit around him, specifically Matt Toomua and Manu Tuliagi in the centres, will be a sight to behold and an extended run of games with that 9, 10, 12 and 13 combination is a delightful prospect for all fans of Premiership rugby regardless of your allegiance. Let's not forget Jonny May's finishing skills are being added into that mix as are the feet of Telusa Veianu... I'll cease now because I'm guessing that you get the picture!
Away from the footwork and flair Leicester's gnarl should come to the fore over the next 22 rounds. Everything that they went through together last season should see them arrive at the start of this campaign with even more resilience and gumption. Speaking at the recent Premiership Rugby launch Matt O'Connor said that they're 'in a pretty good place' and that place will be tested first up against Bath Rugby. The fixture will have a rather large spotlight on it and that's no doubting that fact that we could see one of the matches of the season in Round 1 if both sides turn up and play ball. Matt continued to share further insights with Russ Hargreaves who you'll all know well from talkSPORT2's Sportday;
"The six weeks at the end of last season were invaluable. It allowed me to look at where we were doing okay and where we needed to bridge that gap with the top three and in Europe as well,” said O'Connor.
"So we've made a few adjustments and we've adjusted a lot of the things that we're doing in the S&C space and made significant strengths in the group in positions where we were a little bit light so it's really positive. But, at the same time it's a tough league and you can't win games at 90% capacity in this league. You have to be performing every week to get the four points and that's the challenge to try and make sure we're a little bit more consistent."
Of course consistency will be the name of the game, if you've been reading through some of the other Premiership clubs' previews then it's a word that comes up time and time again. As with all top clubs the international windows will pose a challenge however potentially not as much as years gone by because Leicester still have talents that will remain behind. One other individual that I haven't mentioned yet, who I'm certainly looking forward to seeing back to full fitness, is Tom Croft. Boy does he deserve an injury-free run and it would be great to see him get back to his very best over the course of the next nine months.
Of course I'm not wishing that on any squad in the Premiership at all however injuries are a fact of life and the question is do Leicester have the strength behind that startling first choice 23? If their squad members step up and deliver or they have a season with few injuries then everything that I've mentioned in terms of excitement regarding their prospects stands. If not it becomes a watch this space brief to see how their go. For now, let’s look on the bright side and consider that it could be a very productive domestic season for the Leicester Tigers indeed.
Opening Six Fixtures: Bath (H), Northampton Saints (A), Gloucester Rugby (H), Harlequins (A), Exeter Chiefs (H) and London Irish (A).
Champions Cup Group: Pool 4: Munster Rugby, Leicester Tigers, Racing 92 and Castres Olympique.
Key Player: A tough call to single out just one player so I'm not going to... instead it's their combine first choice back line. All are vital and as a collective could fly!
