Five youngsters agree new Tigers contracts as club looks to future

BOOST AFTER TUILAGI’S EXIT IN CONTRACTS ROW

LEICESTER Tigers have announced new deals for five of their youngest players.

Outside-backs Jordan Olowofela and Sam Aspland-Robinson, back-rower Tommy Reffell, versatile back George Worth and scrum-half Ben White have all committed their future to Tigers.

The boost for the Premiership strugglers comes after the damaging contracts dispute which saw five big names leave Welford Road last week, including England centre Manu Tuilagi.

Tigers academy graduate Olowofela, 22, has made 39 appearances, scoring six tries, since making his debut in 2017.

Aspland-Robinson, 23, joined Leicester from Harlequins in June 2018 and has made 14 first-team appearances so far.

Tigers have not disclosed the length of either of the deals for the two former England Under-20 internationals.

On Aspland-Robinson, director of rugby Geordan Murphy, below, told the club’s website: “He’s hardworking, tough, committed to his team-mates and passionate about Leicester Tigers.

“In a short space of time in Leicester, with limited opportunities, he has earned two contract extensions here.”

On Olowofela, he added: “Jordan has come on leaps and bounds in recent seasons and still has plenty of growth in his game.

“It’s exciting to think about what is still to come from him and we are pleased it will be with us at Leicester Tigers.”

Captain of Wales at Under18 and Under-20 levels, Reffell has recommitted his future to Tigers rather than return to his home nation following interest in the flanker’s signature from Welsh regions.

Since his debut towards the end of

2017, the openside flanker has made 24 senior appearances for Tigers.

After a promising period in Leicester’s junior ranks, in the Academy and Development Squad, Reffell earned promotion to the senior squad in the summer of 2019 and has made 17 appearances in the 2019/20 campaign.

In March 2020, he also added his name to an illustrious list after winning the Premiership Rugby Cup Breakthrough Player Award.

Murphy said: “Tommy represents what Leicester Tigers is about. He’s a tough and courageous young man who comes in every day with the intention to leave a better player than he arrived.

“Tommy understands what it takes and, even at 21 years of age, is a leader in our group.

“There is no question that the appeal to return to Wales was there for him, with clubs across the Welsh regions chasing him, but we presented to Tommy what we believe is a big future at Tigers and he believes in what we are building and chose to recommit.”

Worth, who is capable of playing almost anywhere across the backline, has made 57 senior appearances since his debut towards the end of the 2015/16 campaign as a 19-year-old.

After playing 21 games, Worth is equal with second-rower and fellow Tigers

Academy

graduate Harry Wells for most appearances so far in the 2019/20 season.

Worth, 23, also represented England during the 2016 Under20s Six Nations.

Murphy said: “George is a reliable, hard-working player who team-mates want to have in their side.

“He is a player we want representing our club and, equally so, a person we want as an ambassador for Leicester Tigers.”

Scrum-half White, 22, has made 54 senior appearances for the club since October 2015, when he became the youngest player in the club’s Premiership history aged just 17 years and 151 days.

During the 2016/17 campaign, White spent time on loan with Doncaster in the Championship and appeared in the Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-final and final for Tigers.

White graduated from the Tigers Academy in the same season and has represented England at agegrade levels, including captaining the Under-20s during the 2018 Six Nations and Junior World Cup.

After establishing himself as a senior player during the 2018/19 season, White’s season ended with a run-out at Twickenham as part of an England XV against the Barbarians.

Murphy said: “He is a young man who is mature beyond his years, as tough as they come, and loves Leicester Tigers.

“We are confident Ben will continue to progress in the way he has over recent seasons and enjoy a long, successful career in green, red and white.

“What is most exciting is that he still has plenty of growth in his game.

“Whitey and the young men he has risen through the ranks with at Leicester like George Worth, Jordan Olowofela and Tommy Reffell are the future and the onus is now on them to take the next step and become consistent members of the team, week to week.”

STAYING AT WELFORD ROAD: Clockwise from top left, Jordan Olowofela, Sam Aspland-Robinson, Tommy Reffell, George Worth and Ben White