George Chuter celebrated his 50th Heineken Cup appearance in Viadana and admitted some of his greatest rugby memories have come in the European event.
The England international hooker has played 44 times for Tigers in Europe’s elite competition after opening his account with six appearances for Saracens.
Chuter reached the ERC Elite Award milestone in the seven-try win in Italy on Saturday and said: “I didn’t know I’d played that many times, it has crept up on me really, but I’m very proud of reaching 50 games in the Heineken Cup.
“The tournament gets better and better every year and whenever I am asked I always say some of my best rugby memories come from the Heineken Cup. At Saracens we had two great games against Munster, then winning at Thomond Park with Tigers, going to Clermont a few years ago and winning there, and winning those games against Stade Francais.
“You ask Graham Rowntree and Martin Johnson about the Tigers final in Paris and it is one of their greatest memories, and these are guys who have done everything in the game.
“A huge part of the competition is coming to places like Viadana too. It is a European competition, it is not just about the biggest teams in France and Britain. It is important for the competition to come to Italy, and to see teams from countries like Spain and Romania in the Challenge Cup too.
“It is a fantastic opportunity to play outside your comfort zone and play games in different conditions.
“You still have to go to those places and play your rugby because shocks are waiting to happen if you don’t.”
Chuter was at the heart of the action as Tigers secured a 46-10 win over Viadana and moved to the top of Pool 3 after the opening two rounds of games.
“When you come to a place like this everybody is expecting you to win but, when you come up against a team that is really up for it and gets stuck in, it makes you work very hard for your points,” he said.
“You can’t have it all your own way. You have to earn your win. To get the bonus point and seven tries is important.
“We kept going right to the end and that shows a great attitude. In Treviso last year we were only a couple of points ahead after an hour and scored four or five tries in the last 20 minutes. Those tries carried us right through the pool really.”
Tigers resume Heineken Cup action with back-to-back games against Clermont Auvergne before Christmas. They go to France on Sunday, December 13 and then host last season’s Top 14 finalists at Welford Road on Saturday, December 19 (6pm). Contact the Tigers ticket office now to book your place.
The England international hooker has played 44 times for Tigers in Europe’s elite competition after opening his account with six appearances for Saracens.
Chuter reached the ERC Elite Award milestone in the seven-try win in Italy on Saturday and said: “I didn’t know I’d played that many times, it has crept up on me really, but I’m very proud of reaching 50 games in the Heineken Cup.
“The tournament gets better and better every year and whenever I am asked I always say some of my best rugby memories come from the Heineken Cup. At Saracens we had two great games against Munster, then winning at Thomond Park with Tigers, going to Clermont a few years ago and winning there, and winning those games against Stade Francais.
“You ask Graham Rowntree and Martin Johnson about the Tigers final in Paris and it is one of their greatest memories, and these are guys who have done everything in the game.
“A huge part of the competition is coming to places like Viadana too. It is a European competition, it is not just about the biggest teams in France and Britain. It is important for the competition to come to Italy, and to see teams from countries like Spain and Romania in the Challenge Cup too.
“It is a fantastic opportunity to play outside your comfort zone and play games in different conditions.
“You still have to go to those places and play your rugby because shocks are waiting to happen if you don’t.”
Chuter was at the heart of the action as Tigers secured a 46-10 win over Viadana and moved to the top of Pool 3 after the opening two rounds of games.
“When you come to a place like this everybody is expecting you to win but, when you come up against a team that is really up for it and gets stuck in, it makes you work very hard for your points,” he said.
“You can’t have it all your own way. You have to earn your win. To get the bonus point and seven tries is important.
“We kept going right to the end and that shows a great attitude. In Treviso last year we were only a couple of points ahead after an hour and scored four or five tries in the last 20 minutes. Those tries carried us right through the pool really.”
Tigers resume Heineken Cup action with back-to-back games against Clermont Auvergne before Christmas. They go to France on Sunday, December 13 and then host last season’s Top 14 finalists at Welford Road on Saturday, December 19 (6pm). Contact the Tigers ticket office now to book your place.
