South African Tigers

[LekkerTigers]

I saw someone call us the Lekker Tigers and it’s brilliant.

[Brianf]

Marco Wentzal, Derick Hougaard...I recall a Lock, Mark Andrew? Could be wrong on the last one

[Goodevibrations]

Think I started that on the signings thread.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm well pleased with the signings and the timings of them. They are all clearly qualify players which is what we need, and I suppose having a few from the same country might be good for moral.

My issue, well not issue, worry I suppose, is that it could get in the way of progress. We have some great up and coming talent and some that are really on the cusp of becoming full first teamers or even internationals.

I really want this raft of new signings be great for the club, but we have to keep giving game time to the young academy lads. The recent rotations have really helped them IMO so we've got to keep up with it.

I don't actually think anyone is being negative about the SA signings just voicing an opinion like mine above. The young lads are the future of Tigers. End of.

It does seem that some people take issue with it more from an identity point of view. I've seen comments along the lines of 'I've never seen a Leicester Tigers team look less Leicester'. I absolutely agree that we need to ensure that our talented academy lads are given the opportunity to progress but it's a squad game and there's plenty of rugby to go around. I will also point out that Steve Borthwick is promoting young players who are up to the task, whereas Murphy persisted with some who unfortunately weren't of the required standard to play top flight rugby in England. To be honest I'm just happy that we're actually starting to look like a competent rugby team again that has some direction.

[ay2oh]

Don’t forget Harry Roberts

[FrontRowUnionMember]

Micheal Horak, Micheal Van Vuuren, Seb De Chaves.

[Goodevibrations]

Which South Africans have played for Tigers in the past? I can only think of two, Fritz van Heerden and Joel Stransky. A third! JP Peterson! There must be some more that are beyond my fading memory.

Jaco van der Westhuyzen, Pat Cilliers

He was quality. Really wish he could have stayed for longer.

[LE18]

Glenn gelderbloom was another . He was a top bloke . Coached me for a while here and there . Solid player

He is currently a sports master at Oakham, coached my grandson, along with Nick Joyce and Smithie as head coach.

[Tigers86asw]

Spoke to Glenn a few times when he moved into teaching- top bloke as you say. Michael Horak- what a memory! Joel, Fritz and Jaco were all excellent for tigers, Joel you could argue was our first superstar signing.
I know Alex Sanderson was asked recently about this and he said that there are many reasons for Premiership clubs looking at the SA market. One thing that struck me was he said was they really understood the ‘buy in’ of serving something greater than themselves- said they all had a sense of commitment and purpose that he suspected was down to their culture at school. Essentially great team spirit and willingness to improve. If this is true, and it may be total :censored: but I doubt it, the benefits for Borthwick from a coaching perspective must be huge.
Similarly recent signings have almost all improved the first team and thus we have moved on from signing players who are ‘squad’ players who simultaneously hinder academy development. Whether signings are EQP or from abroad doesn’t bother me (rules for EQP aside) it’s far more if they come in, don’t improve the first XV and also hinder the development of younger players.

[ads]

Which South Africans have played for Tigers in the past? I can only think of two, Fritz van Heerden and Joel Stransky. A third! JP Peterson! There must be some more that are beyond my fading memory.

Jaco van der Westhuyzen, Pat Cilliers

He was quality. Really wish he could have stayed for longer.

Was just gonna post the same. We were fantastic when he was playing. We should have just given him a blank cheque!

[Ian Cant]

Tigers need some players who will give their all to the cause, are talented and will be available during the 6 Nations. Us, Wasps and Quins have all been badly affected by England call ups. Bath now struggle and we know about how Saracens coped. Now Quins are doing very well most likely due to having almost a full squad to choose from.
South African players seem, on the whole to be genuine rugby types. Look at Sale, where they were one of the first clubs where the players totally bought into the need to take a 25% salary cut yet signed contract extensions.
I really enjoy the way Wiese, Hanro and the other internationals are playing for us.
Bonilla is struggling but from all reports has a really good attitude.
Welcome to the club to all the new players and brilliant news about Cole, Chessum, Whitcombe, Nadolo all extending their time at the club.

[Wayne Richardson Fan Club]

Don’t forget Harry Roberts

Best Hooker I have seen in a Tigers shirt..years ahead of his time.....wasn't he a Zimbabwean?

[Goodevibrations]

When I was nine I took a cut out world cup to the first Tigers game back after England won the world cup (I think it was at home vs Bath?) and me and my dad stayed after the game to get it signed by as many players as we could. We went up to Glenn Gelderbloom with it and he said 'but I'm South African', so we turned it over and he was happy to sign it then.

[kpj tiger]

Don’t forget Harry Roberts

Harry coached me during my age grade years at Hinckley RFC due to one of his sons being the same age as me, he was absolutely brilliant with us and made us into a quality side while he was in charge

[mol2]

The reality is Borthwick needed to rebuild the side and do so in a hurry.

We have brought in some quality foreign talent and brought through some younger players.
Buying in English/UK players is expensive and given the Brexit situation I suspect it has brought down the cost of players from the rest of the world.

I hope some of these players will be here for the long run and am leased that Borthwick is continuing on with selecting youngsters that began with Murphy. For years we were blighted by very conservative selection under Cockers and O’Connor. Some of the players we lost have rapidly progressed elsewhere.

[wellstiger]

Don't forget , if the target is to get this club back to the top, then we will have to contend with International call ups, Challenging in the Prem and in Europe. Then there will inevitably be injuries and suspensions. There will be more than enough scope for our youngsters to progress .
I think the future looks bright. Add into this SB has seen some players we need to refresh and develop, so we have sent them( by mutual agreement) out on loan overseas. What a great club we have. Keep the faith and keep calm. Embrace the journey.