Leicester Tigers has a significant history of developing home grown talent. In the amateur era our Youth structure was highly successful, producing Leicester Tigers legends such as Martin Johnson and Graham Rowntree.

In the transition to the professional era it was recognised that a clear development programme was needed to develop 'complete' players capable of playing professional rugby at the highest level. A key difference between amateur and professional rugby is the physical demands placed on players. With this in mind it was decided that a successful development structure should follow a parallel path to the senior squad.

In 1998 the Leicester Tigers Academy was established. The academy structure is underpinned by our apprenticeship scheme, which exposes every player to a programme of rugby development and body management, balanced against his education. This provides the necessary structure for each player to maximise his rugby potential.

The first players to go through this system are now playing in the first team, with Ollie Smith, Sam Vesty, Louis Deacon and Harry Ellis some of our early success stories.

In recognition of our continuing achievement we were awarded RFU academy status in January 2002. The Leicester Tigers England Rugby Academy aims to produce outstanding players for both the Leicester Tigers and England.

Players join the academy through our Elite Player Development Groups (satellite academies for players aged U-15 to U-17. Refer to EPDG section for further information). The apprenticeship scheme provides a complete player pathway from their entry into the academy through to their ultimate goal - joining the senior squad.

Tigers Academy 2007/08

   

Rugby Development

The programme is designed to expose all players to the requirements of the professional game. A balance of individual, unit and team skills are delivered each week leading into a competitive game. Players are exposed to training programmes that develop not only their rugby skills but also their understanding of the game.

Rugby sessions are led by a distinguished group of ex-Tigers. The current first team players pass on their experiences as they support training sessions and lead technical skills clinics.

Body Management

The professional game requires players that are quicker, faster, stronger and more powerful in order to compete. If a player is to fulfill his rugby potential he must get his body into the best possible shape.


Our dedicated strength and conditioning coach provides specific training programmes in order to meet individual conditioning needs. Nutrition advice is given to ensure that players are eating appropriate foods and hydrating sufficiently in order to train at a high level.

Academic or Vocational Training

Whilst every young player aims for a professional rugby career, it is vital that they continue some form of education. We have developed partnerships with a number of educational institutes within our area in order to provide each player with a balance between their education and rugby development.

In addition to these core elements of the apprenticeship scheme, our players have the opportunity to take personal development courses including communication, time management and RFU coaching badges.

The players share their rugby coaching skills by teaching Tag rugby in local primary schools through the club’s community department. This gives back to the community and also acts as an introduction to rugby for children who could one day become academy players themselves!

Academy Vice-Presidents

We are indebted to our Academy Vice-Presidents who continue to support the programme:

Mr Andrew Black	Mr Richard Burgin
Mr Brian Cleaver	Mr Chris Everard
Mr Chris Fielding	Mr Derrick Fothergill
Mr Dominic Gomersall	Mr David Grady
Mr Adrian Hessey	Mr Peter Howard
Mrs Jackie Jeavons-Fellows	Mr Patrick Kilmartin
Mr Mike Merriman	Mr Geoff Pointon
Mr Mike Smith	Mr Tony Snarey
Mr Robert Wills	Mr Eric Wood

Academy Sponsors

We would like to thank the following companies for sponsoring our Tigers Academy and Community schemes:
 

AAH Pharmaceuticals	Affiniti
Arnold Wills	Barclays Capital
Baxi Heating UK	Bradstone
Canon UK	Caterpillar Logistics
Central Consulting	Centrica
CITI Group	CJC Development Co Ltd
Computacenter	DHL Excel Supply Chain
Dulux Trade	Ernst & Young
Exel	Extra Personnel
Flogas UK	Gaunt Francis Architects
GlaxoSmithKline C&E Europe	Hewlett-Packard
Hilton International	Homeserve
Industria Personnel	Intervoice
J P Morgan	KPMG
Lafarge Aggregates	Lawton Tubes
Nationwide Accident Repair	Nautilus
Opal Ireland	Pace Structures
PricewaterhouseCoopers	Ryzex PLC
Target Express	Tradeteam
Vauxhall Motors	W T Foods
Watmough Mallett	Whitehouse Machine Tools
Xerox UK	Xpart
ZED Media	Zenith Optimedia