Dynamic duo can turn Tigers into title contenders
It has been a busy week for Leicester Tigers as their squad for the 2021/22 season begins to take shape. Here, Mercury rugby writer Bobby Bridge names two more players he feels Tigers should target to help compete for honours again
LEICESTER Tigers fans have become conditioned to things happening quickly over the past year or two.
In the blink of an eye last summer, they saw the likes of Manu Tuilagi, Telusa Veainu and Kyle Eastmond leave the club following disagreements over contract renegotiations.
Signings came in to plug gaps, some of whom have already headed out the exit door following Geordan Murphy’s departure in November as Steve Borthwick assumed sole control of the good ship Leicester Tigers.
Before rumours of Jordan Taufua’s end-of-season exit had been allowed to dissipate, an agreement was struck and the powerful back row was making his Lyon debut.
Then came the manic – or magic – Monday. Six players re-signed, four new signings announced.
The contract extensions gave a big nod to the future in Dan Kelly, Ollie Chessum and James Whitcombe as well securing the futures of fans’ favourites in the form of Jasper Wiese and Dan Cole.
Given the impact of the former and the longevity of the other, both arguably deserved to be headline news.
Instead, the focus naturally fell on the new arrivals. The trio of Eli Snyman, Marco van Staden and Francois van Wyk will take Tigers’ South African contingent to eight next term, when they team up with Wiese, Hanro Liebenberg, Cyle Brink, Jaco Taute and Kobus van Wyk.
Loosehead prop Luan de Bruin has joined only for this season before moving north to Edinburgh.
Tigers are retaining their young stars and are bolstering their pack with a beefy Bok contingent – a philosophy that served Steve Borthwick’s former club Saracens well on their journey to the top of English rugby.
But what is missing from this squad and what can help fast-track Tigers to becoming top-four, and even title contenders again, ahead of next season?
When the group reconvenes after the summer break, Argentina international Tomas Lavanini will not be among those reporting for duty as he heads to Clermont Auvergne.
Tigers have gone some way towards filling his sizeable boots by bringing in the 6ft 7in and 17-stone frame of Snyman.
They also have experienced Premiership campaigners in Calum Green and Harry Wells, while George Martin, Ollie Chessum and Cameron Henderson are all decent options.
So Tigers’ second-row stocks are hardly anywhere near crisis point. But what they don’t have is one of champion pedigree. And they don’t come more decorated than George
Kruis. Aged 18, Kruis was taken under then-England captain Borthwick’s wing and he spent five years mentoring the lock to becoming a Saracens star as well as an England international and British and Irish Lion.
Following the fall-out of the salary cap affair at Allianz Park last year, Kruis’ escape route came via Japan and the Panasonic Wild Knights.
Crucially, it was just a one-year deal. Having only recently turned 31, he must surely have ambitions of adding to his 45 England caps.
A signing of Kruis’ calibre would be a massive statement of intent – both in terms of his abilities on the pitch but also the esteem in which he is held.
And there’s something that just fits seeing Borthwick and Kruis reunited. The master and the apprentice together, driving Leicester Tigers back to the top of English rugby.
As for the second signing that Tigers should secure...
Next week George Ford turns 28 and is on track to join Ben Youngs in becoming a Test centurian.
Filling his boots while away on international duty remains a work in progress.
Zack Henry has displayed encouraging signs of development, with influential displays against the likes of Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish.
Little faith seems to be placed in Juan Diaz Bonilla, the Argentina international, who has featured in only four Premiership games so far this season.
Johnny McPhillps, 23, has been Henry’s main understudy and has shown promise.
However, luring Freddie Burns back to the Mattioli Woods Welford
Road for a couple of seasons feels like a strong fit.
Tigers need an experienced head to steer the ship but also challenge Ford during non-international periods.
Burns is a player with a point to prove. His last season at Bath is best remembered for a painful error in failing to ground the ball while celebrating a try in a crunch European game
He was active on social media while awaiting his delayed move to Japan and the Shokki Shuttles.
Burns seemed to pine for the Premiership he was leaving behind before finally boarding a plane bound for the Far East.
In a recent interview with Talking Rugby Union, he said: “I’m only here a year, so if something comes up in the Premiership, I feel it excites me, is a worthwhile cause and something I can contribute to, then I’m more than happy to give it a crack.”
A pack brimming with South African power, a sprinkling of youthful intent and the guiding hands of experience, plus a back-line with a few seasoned stars in key positions, finishers out wide and committed midfield operators – these two additions would go a long way to fasttracking Tigers’ climb from the bottom of the table to pursuing a first title since 2013.