When Tigers last reigned supreme...
Leicester Tigers lifted a 10th English title on May 25, 2013 after beating old rivals Northampton Saints 37-17 at Twickenham. Dylan Hartley’s red card proved crucial as Tigers eventually saw off the Saints but the victory proved to be the end of a glorious period of success for the club. While some stars who featured that day are still wearing green, red and white, what are the rest up to now? 15. MATHEW TAIT
His eight years at Leicester Tigers and his rugby career came to an end in February 2019 after failing to recover from an Achilles injury.
It was a sad way for the 33-year-old to end his playing days which saw him pick up 36 England caps between 2005 and 2010.
The talented back is now as an analyst for Oakwell Sports Advisory, a London-based firm that specialises in corporate finance advice and solving key commercial challenges in the sports sector globally.
14. NIALL MORRIS
Scored one of his 18 tries for Tigers in the 2012/13 final after just eight minutes.
The Irishman left Welford Road to return to Leinster in 2016. However, after just a couple of friendly appearances, he was forced to retire aged 28 that same year due to an ankle injury.
Morris is now an associate with corporate finance firm, Key Capital, having previously worked on Allied Irish Banks Syndicated & International Finance team for three years.
13. MANU TUILAGI
Scored a beauty of a try in the final as Tigers finally made their man advantage pay.
The England international signed a new deal with the club in 2019 but left after failing to agree reduced wage deals amid financial challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
He was snapped up by Premiership rivals Sale Sharks and scored on his return to Welford Road in September 2020.
After just seven games for his new club, Tuilagi was ruled out for up to six months with a torn Achilles tendon.
He faces a race against time to feature in the 2021 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa.
12. ANTHONY ALLEN
Forced to retire aged 28 just two years after the 2013 final, the former centre swiftly transitioned into a coaching role within Tigers academy and with the England U20s.
He left Welford Road in 2019 to join fellow ex-Tiger Brett Deacon at Championship club Coventry as defence coach.
However, with Coventry’s season cancelled in March and no start date set for the 2020/21 campaign at that stage, Allen announced he would be stepping away from professional rugby in November to pursue interests away from rugby.
11. VERENKI GONEVA
Scorer of Tigers’ fourth and final try to see off Northampton Saints in the final seven years ago, the Fijian has added three more clubs to his CV since leaving Welford Road in 2016.
He enjoyed three years at Newcastle Falcons and was named the 2017/18 Premiership player of the season.
Goneva joined Harlequins in July 2019 but struggled to make an impression. Aged 36, he signed for second tier French club Stade Montois.
10. TOBY FLOOD
The fly-half lasted just 20 minutes in the final after a shuddering tackle from Courtney Lawes.
It now seems like a lifetime ago since Toby was a Tiger, leaving the club back in 2014 to join Toulouse in France.
The 60-times capped England back returned to the Premiership with Newcastle Falcons, with whom he started his professional career, in 2017.
The 35-year-old remained loyal to the cause despite the Kingston Park club suffering relegation in 2018/19 and helped guide Dean Richards’ side back to the big time at the first time of asking.
9. BEN YOUNGS
Tigers’ milestone man. The scrumhalf passed 250 games for the club towards the back end of the 2019/20 campaign and also became only the second man to play 100 games of rugby for England at Test level.
At 31, he remains pivotal for both club and country, with head coach Eddie Jones suggesting he could go on to earn 150 Test caps.
1. LOGOVI’I MULIPOLA
After spending six years at Welford Road, the Samoan prop became a firm fans’ favourite at the club due to his bulldozing carries on the pitch and his infectious smile off it.
Joined Newcastle Falcons in 2018 and suffered relegation in his first season but is back in the big time now, having also featured briefly on loan at Gloucester.
2. TOM YOUNGS
Would end the 2013 season as a British and Irish Lion featuring in all three Tests against Australia.
The Tigers captain and still going strong aged 33 and is now just two appearances away from a double century for Tigers.
Started the 2020/21 season with two tries to his name in four games and appears intent on keeping the number two jersey his own with young challengers providing stiff competition.
3. DAN COLE
The tighthead prop is edging towards 250 Tigers appearances and remains a mainstay in the pack, although Joe Heyes is pushing him for the number three shirt.
His international career appears to be at an end after 98 Tests (95 for England, three for the British and Irish Lions), with his last appearance coming in the World Cup final defeat to South Africa.
4. GEOFF PARLING
His six years with Tigers ended in
2015 when he joined Exeter Chiefs. The second row had spells at both Munakata Sanix Blues in Japan and finally for Melbourne Rebels in Australia, where he coached after retiring from playing in November 2018.
In October, he was brought into the Australia coaching set-up by Davi Rennie as a forwards coach.
5. GRAHAM KITCHENER
A try scorer in the final, Kitchener spent eight seasons at Leicester Tigers before rejoining Worcester Warriors ahead of the 2019/20 season, making 23 appearances.
6. TOM CROFT
The talented back row earned 35 England caps and played in five British and Irish Lions Test matches.
These numbers did not do his talents justice as injuries hampered his career. Croft retired in November 2017 on medical grounds for a neck injury.
Since 2018 he has been a land manager at Davidsons Homes.
He recently played a big part in the Get Busy Living Centre, run by the Matt Hampson Foundation, to build new accommodation units at the Burrough on the Hill rehabilitation facility.
7. JULIAN SALVI
The talented Australian back row was Tigers’ player of the year in their 2012/2013 Premiership winning campaign.
He joined Exeter Chiefs in 2015 and won the league once more in 2016/17.
Salvi coached Plymouth Albion for two seasons alongside his playing duties before retiring from the latter in 2018, aged 32.
He took up a position as defence coach at Sandy Park where he remains to this day.
8. JORDAN CRANE
The four-time Premiership winner left Tigers in 2016 to join Bristol Bears and led them to promotion back into the top tier.
His 16-year professional playing career came to an end upon the conclusion of the 2019/20 season and he is now an academy transition coach at Bristol.
Crane was invited to lift the European Challenge Cup in October 2020 along with captain-for-the-day, Siale Piutau.
REPLACEMENTS: ROB HAWKINS
The hooker retired from rugby in 2016 aged 33 having made 16 appearances for Newcastle Falcons, whom he joined two years previously.
Having initially pursued a career in the police force, he now works as a territory manager for Globus Medical, a company which provides medical devices.
FRASER BALMAIN
The loosehead prop made 96 appearances for Tigers across six years, before joining Gloucester in 2017 where he remains after signing a new deal in January.
He was named as the Cherry-andWhites’ forward of the season in the 2018/19 campaign when they finished in the top four.
MARTIN CASTROGIOVANNI
One of the iconic figures of such a successful part of Leicester Tigers’ history. The 2013 final was his last appearance in a Tigers shirt, as he moved to Toulon where he won two Heineken Cups.
A move to Racing then followed, where he missed the club’s European semi-final against Tigers in 2016 after telling the club he was attending family matters in Argentina.
In reality, he was spotted partying in Las Vegas with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and several other PSG players.
He was speculatively linked with a move back to Welford Road following the departure of Boris Stankovich as scrum coach.
The Castro Rugby Academy is among his business interests and he is a presenter on the Italian television talent show Tu Si Que Vales.
ED SLATER
Captained Leicester Tigers in both the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons but switched to Gloucester as part of a swap deal with Jonny May for the 2017/18 season.
Now aged 32, the Leicester-born lock is still going strong for the Cherry and Whites
STEVE MAFI
The Australia-born Tongan forward was a big hit at Welford Road during his four year-stay that ended in 2014.
He has clocked up appearances for the Greater Sydney Rams and Western Force back in Australia before spending three seasons at Castres in France.
Returned to English rugby in 2019 to join London Irish and featured against Tigers in round two of the 2020/21 Gallagher Premiership season.
SAM HARRISON
After making more than 170 appearances for Leiceser Tigers, the scrum-half decided in October 2019 that he would be stepping away from professional rugby a few months later and moved to Australia with his young family. He now works in both carpentry and building in Queensland.
GEORGE FORD
The fly-half had not long turned 20 when he arrived onto the pitch in the 2012/13 final after just 23 minutes to replace Toby Flood.
He joined Bath that summer but returned to Welford Road in 2017 where he remains as he edges towards 100 appearances and has reached the 900-point mark.
MATT SMITH
His 14-year playing career at Tigers saw Smith win four Premiership titles and three Anglo-Welsh cups. The centre retired in May 2019 and became an academy coach at the club. Was recently promoted to assistant coach on an interim basis following the departure of Rob Taylor.