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Leicester statement: 4 more signings, including two from London Irish

EX-London Irish skipper Matt Rogerson (Screen grab via London Irish)

New Leicester boss Dan McKellar has added four more signings to his squad for the upcoming 2023/24 season, including two additions from the financially collapsed London Irish. The Exiles squad – which finished fifth in last season’s Gallagher Premiership, four points behind the third-place Tigers – have seen their squad break up since the club’s early June RFU suspension and fall into administration.

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The two latest players to secure employment elsewhere are skipper Matt Rogerson and scrum-half Joe Powell. Leicester have also signed out-half Kieran Wilkinson from Sale while the versatile forward Mike Williams has returned to the club following stints with Bath and Exeter.

These signings bring to 11 the number of new players joining Leicester – the seven additions previously announced were Josh Bassett, Sam Carter, Ollie Hassell-Collins, Kyle Hatherell, Solomone Kata, Jamie Shillcock and Finn Theobald-Thomas.

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A statement read: “Leicester Tigers head coach Dan McKellar has confirmed four additions ahead of the 23/24 season. Included within the quartet of signings is a returning Tiger, who made more than 80 appearances for Leicester in four seasons at the club, and an international scrum-half who previously worked with McKellar down under.

“The four additions are: Joe Powell (scrum-half), Matt Rogerson (back row), Kieran Wilkinson (fly-half) and Mike Williams (lock/back row).

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“The 29-year-old Powell makes the move to the East Midlands after a season with London Irish, who he joined after eight years of Super Rugby. Back-rower Rogerson makes the move to Tigers from London Irish, who he made more than 100 appearances for during five seasons – including the final two as club captain.

“Fly-half Wilkinson made 22 appearances for Sale in all competitions since his senior debut in 2018. And 31-year-old forward Williams returns to Tigers, where he made more than 80 appearances during four seasons with the club, after stints with Bath and Exeter. Williams, who is capable of playing at lock and across the back row, played his junior rugby with the Sharks and Blue Bulls in South Africa before joining Worcester in 2013.”

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McKellar said: “Joe is an experienced scrum-half who has played at the highest level in the game and I am really excited about having him join us at Leicester Tigers. I have spoken openly about the type of players we want at Tigers, the type of character I want in the group and a young man of Joe’s qualities on and off the pitch fits well and truly within that.

“It’s no secret we are likely to be without Jack (van Poortvliet) and Ben (Youngs) during the World Cup, so certainly in need of depth at scrum-half and I am pleased we have been able to add that with the quality of Joe.

“It is great to be welcoming a player of Matt’s experience and character to Leicester. He is a tried and tested player in the Premiership and adds important depth and competition to our back row ranks.

“You don’t play a century of games in this league without a certain level of toughness and commitment, as well as plenty of talent, and Matt has shown that over a number of years now.

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“His class and character have shone through in recent times when captain of London Irish to lead his playing group through such a tumultuous period and it is that type of person we want representing Leicester.

“It is great to be able to confirm Kieran’s signing with the club from next season, which will see him boost our fly-half ranks alongside Charlie Atkinson and Handre Pollard. While still very much a young man, Kieran has already got a great amount of senior experience in the English game and is a player with potential.

“We are confident that he will be able to take his game to the next level as part of Leicester and looking forward to helping him continue to develop his game.

“We are excited to have Mike back at Leicester. He is a physical player with a combative approach to the game and enjoys the tough stuff – all the attributes we want in our forwards at this club. I am certain our supporters are pleased to see a man of Mike’s character back at the club also.

“He understands what it means to be able to represent Leicester, our role in the community and is as passionate as ever about being a part of that again.”

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J
JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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