Leicester Tigers Women

Leicester Tigers Women
Founded15 July 2021; 3 years ago (15 July 2021)
LocationLeicester, England
Ground(s)Mattioli Woods Welford Road (Capacity: 25,849)
Coach(es)Tom Hudson
League(s)Premiership Women's Rugby
First match
Bishop Auckland Ladies 5–57 Leicester Tigers Women
18 September 2022
Largest win
Harrogate Ladies 3–114 Leicester Tigers Women
18 February 2023
Largest defeat
Bristol Bears Women 55–3 Leicester Tigers Women
(Shaftesbury Park, Bristol)
14 October 2023

Leicester Tigers Women is a women's rugby union club based in Leicester, Leicestershire, England. They are the women's team of Leicester Tigers. They were founded in 2021 and as of 2023, play in Premiership Women's Rugby.

History

The team was formed on 15 July 2021,[1] launched in partnership with Lichfield Ladies under the name of "Lichfield Leicester Tigers",[2][3] in their initial season they played a season of friendlies before entering Women's Championship North 1 for the 2022–23 season,[4] taking the place of Lichfield. The club confirmed its intention to bid for a place in the 2023-24 Premier 15s season,[5] on 16 December 2022 the RFU announced that they had been successful and would join the Premier 15, which became Premiership Women's Rugby, beginning in 2023–24.[6]

On 5 November 2022 the local derby with Loughborough RFC saw a record crowd for a 2nd division game as 3,523 attended.[7]

The team's first ever top flight victory came against Sale Sharks Women on 21 January 2024.[8]

Current squad

For player movements before or during the 2023–24 season, see List of 2023–24 Premiership Women’s Rugby transfers § Leicester Tigers.

The Leicester Tigers squad for the 2023–24 season is:[9]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Leah Bartlett Prop Scotland Scotland
Caitlin Clark Prop England England
Lisa Cockburn Prop Scotland Scotland
Georgie Grimes Prop England England
Jade Jones Prop England England
Churchy Knight Prop England England
Keia Mae Sagapolu Prop United States United States
Ofure Ugiagbe Prop England England
Alana Bainbridge Hooker England England
Amy Cokayne Hooker England England
Elis Martin Hooker Scotland Scotland
Samantha Williams Hooker England England
Eva Donaldson Second row Scotland Scotland
Ella-Mae Fereday Second row England England
Charlotte Fray Second row England England
Ali Gale Second row England England
Catha Jacobs Second row South Africa South Africa
Maddie Massey Second row England England
Georgia Westwood Second row England England
Tanya Bird Back row Philippines Philippines
Tahlia Brody Back row United States United States
Roisin McBrien Back row England England
Sydney Mead Back row England England
Leilah Mills Back row England England
Becky Noon Back row England England
Julia Omokhuale Back row Canada Canada
Amy Orrow Back row England England
Morgan Richardson Back row England England
Kat Turner Back row England England
Zoe Warrington Back row England England
Player Position Union
Lucy Nye Scrum-half England England
Amy Relf Scrum-half England England
Claire Gallagher Fly-half Canada Canada
Meg Jones Fly-half England England
Ellie Turner Fly-half England England
Holly Williams Fly-half England England
Katie Childs Centre Sweden Sweden
Rebecca De Filippo Centre Wales Wales
Abi Gordon Centre England England
Natasha Jones Centre England England
Francesca McGhie Centre Scotland Scotland
Linzi Taylor Centre
Evie Wills Centre Scotland Scotland
Tami Agboola Back England England
Lottie Bozon Back England England
Louisa Burgham Back England England
Bryany Chalk Back England England
Caz Collie Back Scotland Scotland
Charlotte Daley Back England England
Molly Draycott Back England England
Zoë Evans Back England England
Tess Feury Back United States United States
Lucrezia Iavarone Back Italy Italy
Celia Quansah Back England England
Harriet Roberts Back England England
Amanda Swartz Back Sweden Sweden
Amelia Tutt Back Wales Wales

Season summaries

League Cup
Season Competition Final position Points Play-offs Competition Performance
2022—23 Women's Championship North 1 1st[10] 90 Finalist[11] No competition N/A
2023—24 Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby Allianz Cup 9th

Gold background denotes champions
Silver background denotes runners-up
Pink background denotes relegated

Club staff

[12]

Role Name
Head of Women's Rugby Tom Hudson
Assistant Coach Luke Stratford
Strength and Conditioning Lead Mitchell Cook
Lead Analyst Kingsley Morgans

References

  1. ^ Sherrard, Gary (15 July 2021). "Leicester Tigers Women's Rugby Programme". Leicester Tigers. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Leicester Tigers: Premiership club join forces with Lichfield to form women's team". BBC Sport. 20 August 2021.
  3. ^ Ekin, Kim (20 August 2021). "Leicester Tigers reveal the who, when and where of their new women's team". Rugby Pass. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Lichfield RUFC chairman hails new women's team link-up with Leicester Tigers". Lichfield Live. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  5. ^ Kiflie, Yoseph (5 August 2022). "Inside the battle to secure a place in the revamped Premier 15s". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  6. ^ Harvey, Joe (17 December 2022). "Ealing and Leicester offered place in Allianz Premier 15s but Sale, Worcester, Wasps and Darlington omitted". Talking Rugby Union. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  7. ^ Sherrard, Gary (9 November 2022). "Tigers support sets top mark for women's fixture". Leicester Tigers. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Leicester Tigers beat Sale to claim first win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Tigers announce first Premiership Women's Rugby squad". Leicester Tigers. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Leicester Tigers Women Table 2022-2023". RFU. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Tigers Women defeated in Championship Final". Leicester Tigers. 30 April 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Hudson to lead women's programme". Leicester Tigers. 15 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.