LEICESTER TIGERS 2021/22 SQUAD/TRANSFERS/CONTRACTS: Lord of the Mauls

[TigerFeetSteve]

Gonna make a stab at this (note this is senior squad only not academy)

Confirmed leaving:
George Ford

Likely leaving:
Jordan Olowafela
Sam Aspland-Robinson
Jaco Taute
Harry Simmons
Kobus Van Wyk
Tom Cowan-Dickie
Tom Youngs (depending on Tiff possibly too)

50:50 leaving
Nephi Leatigaga
Kini Murimurivalu
Calum Green
Matias Moroni
Richard Wigglesworth
Cyle Brink

Possible but unlikely leavers
Joe Heyes
Nemani Nadolo
Tommy Reffell
Harry Wells
Juan Pablo Socino

Think most of the likely ones are self explanitory.

50:50 ones
Leatigaga, likely coming to the end of his contract, will likely attract good French interest Whitcombe, Hurd and Van Wyk likely mean we can replace with a cheaper Tighthead option rather than get cover for both sides.

Kini Murimurivalu, brought in over Veaniu leaving, probably on too much considering how much he plays, think in Hegarty & Burns we have primary cover for him so think we can afford to lose him and replace with a cheaper option.

Green, with Chessum, Synman, & Henderson coming through think they will be prioritised over his renewal, but if cheap enough we may keep him, but I expect him to be dropping down pecking order a bit, especially when Henderson back fit.

Moroni, rumours are we got him as an absolute steal, and with Kelly, Scott and Porter we probably can't justify the expense to pay him the price needed to keep him if this is the season his contract ends.

Wigglesworth if he decides to retire or not

Brink may be the one we let go with our huge depth in the back row. Possibly may be Reffell, would love it if we kept them all



Between the likely leavers and the 50:50 ones we can certainly cut a chunk of cap to make room for bigger wages for some our most promising youngsters....

Ok so update of this now where my thinking is now.

Confirmed Leaving
George Ford
Ellis Genge
Cyle Brink (gone already)

Likely Leaving
Jordan Olowafela
Sam Aspland-Robinson
Jaco Taute
Harry Simmons
Kobus Van Wyk
Matias Moroni
Tommy Reffell
Juan Pablo Socino
Tom Youngs (depending on Tiff possibly too)

50:50 leaving
Nephi Leatigaga
Kini Murimurivalu

Possible but unlikely leavers
Harry Wells
Richard Wigglesworth
Will Hurd
Dan Richardson
Marco Van Staden (concussion related retirement, though I still think this is highly unlikely)

I think one or two of the names we're linked with make one or two of these a bit more or less likely, this is roughly where I see things

[trendylfj]

Gonna make a stab at this (note this is senior squad only not academy)

Confirmed leaving:
George Ford

Likely leaving:
Jordan Olowafela
Sam Aspland-Robinson
Jaco Taute
Harry Simmons
Kobus Van Wyk
Tom Cowan-Dickie
Tom Youngs (depending on Tiff possibly too)

50:50 leaving
Nephi Leatigaga
Kini Murimurivalu
Calum Green
Matias Moroni
Richard Wigglesworth
Cyle Brink

Possible but unlikely leavers
Joe Heyes
Nemani Nadolo
Tommy Reffell
Harry Wells
Juan Pablo Socino

Think most of the likely ones are self explanitory.

50:50 ones
Leatigaga, likely coming to the end of his contract, will likely attract good French interest Whitcombe, Hurd and Van Wyk likely mean we can replace with a cheaper Tighthead option rather than get cover for both sides.

Kini Murimurivalu, brought in over Veaniu leaving, probably on too much considering how much he plays, think in Hegarty & Burns we have primary cover for him so think we can afford to lose him and replace with a cheaper option.

Green, with Chessum, Synman, & Henderson coming through think they will be prioritised over his renewal, but if cheap enough we may keep him, but I expect him to be dropping down pecking order a bit, especially when Henderson back fit.

Moroni, rumours are we got him as an absolute steal, and with Kelly, Scott and Porter we probably can't justify the expense to pay him the price needed to keep him if this is the season his contract ends.

Wigglesworth if he decides to retire or not

Brink may be the one we let go with our huge depth in the back row. Possibly may be Reffell, would love it if we kept them all



Between the likely leavers and the 50:50 ones we can certainly cut a chunk of cap to make room for bigger wages for some our most promising youngsters....

Ok so update of this now where my thinking is now.

Confirmed Leaving
George Ford
Ellis Genge
Cyle Brink (gone already)

Likely Leaving
Jordan Olowafela
Sam Aspland-Robinson
Jaco Taute
Harry Simmons
Kobus Van Wyk
Matias Moroni
Tommy Reffell
Juan Pablo Socino
Tom Youngs (depending on Tiff possibly too)

50:50 leaving
Nephi Leatigaga
Kini Murimurivalu

Possible but unlikely leavers
Harry Wells
Richard Wigglesworth
Will Hurd
Dan Richardson
Marco Van Staden (concussion related retirement, though I still think this is highly unlikely)

I think one or two of the names we're linked with make one or two of these a bit more or less likely, this is roughly where I see things

Not quite where I see it but not too far away
Don't agree Reffell or Moroni are "likely leavers" - would have them in your 50 - 50 and I can see them trying like mad to keep Kini.

[Wayne Richardson Fan Club]

One way to keep Kini would be to actually play him.....

[Dangerous4]

One way to keep Kini would be to actually play him.....

YES.

[bendy]

One way to keep Kini would be to actually play him.....

YES.

We're slap bang in the middle of one of the most succesful seasons this club has had in the last decade, possibly in the running for three trophies and after just hammering our local neighbours twice.

And yet, people are grumbling about team selection!

No criticism intended to the posters quoted, I think I'm just highlighting why I love discussion forums.

"Bloody Borthwick. I wish he'd stop winning all these matches and pick players who might actually be injured for all I know."

FWIW, I love seeing Kini in the side too. He'd be a better option than Hegarty atFB for my money.

[ABClub]

Hasn't Kini had injuries this season?

[longlivethecrumbie]

Hasn't Kini had injuries this season?

Nobody really knows. The Borthwick news blackout on injuries and signings is causing all sorts of confusion around selections.

[sapajo]

Hasn't Kini had injuries this season?

Nobody really knows. The Borthwick news blackout on injuries and signings is causing all sorts of confusion around selections.

I know the forum is divided on this matter but from a supporters view point I find the silence deafening

[Scott1]

Hasn't Kini had injuries this season?

Nobody really knows. The Borthwick news blackout on injuries and signings is causing all sorts of confusion around selections.

I know the forum is divided on this matter but from a supporters view point I find the silence deafening

Be nice to know because knowing about an injury clears things up immediately one way or another. He’s either injured and can’t play or he’s being criminally underplayed

[RichieB]

Some other clubs in the Prem do give more detail about player availability and injury status. Obviously you don’t want to give any tactical info to other clubs, but if for example Taute is out for the season or Cole has a bruised ankle then I don’t see the harm in that.

I think the lack of info on Kini, Henderson and others just leads to a lot of confusion amongst many fans. Like, why have we signed Ashton, why isn’t Kini or Moroni being selected and so on. It does get irritating when we (think we) know about Gopperth coming and K Van Wyk getting shipped out yet nothing official from the club.

When the announcement eventually comes it is like, yeah we’ve been thinking that for weeks so it isn’t really any surprise.

I can’t see SB changing his ways any time soon.

[RagingBull]

Erm “K Van Wyk getting shipped out”
Am I missing something?

[Tigersunited]

Hasn't Kini had injuries this season?

Nobody really knows. The Borthwick news blackout on injuries and signings is causing all sorts of confusion around selections.

I know the forum is divided on this matter but from a supporters view point I find the silence deafening

SB has been clear on this since he came in, he won’t comment.

[ourla]

Under previous head coaches/DOR's I seem to recall people complaining that the information wasn't clear or that so and so was meant to be back by this date - why isn't he playing and so on. Essentially unless every last detail was shared some fans would always complain. Not saying Borthwick's method is necessarily correct just that I don't think it makes much odds in terms of keeping fans happy.

It kinda suits me personally because I am quite patient and quite happy not to get daily updates but just be informed of the end result - in this case the team picked.

[sapajo]

Erm “K Van Wyk getting shipped out”
Am I missing something?

Who knows other than Borthwick Thats the truth.

[Rugbygramps]

I think he could be a little more flexible. Where a player is out for a couple of weeks, I totally get the need not to give details. In the case of MVS for example where there is a lot of fan interest and concern being expressed over the players welfare, I really don’t see an update as a problem as without one fans will come to all sorts of conclusions