Tigers out to 'earn the right to win'

Leicester Tigers will run out in front of a capacity 24,000 crowd for the first home game of the season on Saturday with a team showing four changes since last weekend’s win at Harlequins.

The new Caterpillar Stand is opened for the first time as Tigers welcome the biggest-ever league crowd at Welford Road.

Head coach Richard Cockerill retains the same backline that started at Harlequins but he has made four changes in the forwards, with Mefin Davies, Ben Kay, Craig Newby and Brett Deacon given starting roles. Richard Blaze, George Chuter, Jordan Crane and Ben Woods are ruled out by injuries picked up last weekend.

“It is great to get back to Welford Road after starting the season with two tough away games,” said Cockerill.

“We won only five league games away from home last year and we have one to our credit already. Now we need to build on that.

“It is fantastic for the players to run out in front a 24,000 full house, but we have to retain our focus on the match itself. Welford Road is a special place for every one of us but, just like starting the season as defending champions, you still have to earn the right to win games, nothing gets handed to you on a plate.”

Argentina fullback Lucas Amorosino is named among the replacements alongside summer signings Joe Duffey, Robbie Harris and Geoff Parling, as well as internationals Julian White and Aaron Mauger.

Toby Flood, Sam Vesty, Dan Hipkiss, Alesana Tuilagi, Lewis Moody, Dan Cole and Boris Stankovich are unavailable due to injury.

Newcastle have made three changes to their side for Saturday’s big match. Junior All Black centre Tane Tu’ipulotu returns to the midfield, after missing the opening two rounds of the campaign with a neck injury.

Springbok Gcobani shifts from inside centre to the right wing as Rob Vickerman is given a chance to continue his fine early form at outside centre, the Yorkshireman having scored in both of his home outings against Edinburgh and Sale respectively.

Fly half Jimmy Gopperth is named after recovering from an ankle injury sustained in last Sunday’s draw with Sale, although the Kiwi will face a late fitness test on match-day to confirm his participation as Rob Miller stands by to slot in.

With Saturday seeing Leicester open their new Caterpillar Stand with a sell-out 24,000 crowd in attendance, director of rugby Steve Bates spoke of his desire to dampen home spirits on Tigers’ big day.

“Even in defeat last year I felt as if we went down to Welford Road and gave a creditable defensive performance, so whilst it is obviously a tough place to go it is not somewhere that holds any fear for us,” said the former England scrum half.

“They’ve started with a narrow loss and a narrow win, neither of which was exactly flowing rugby, and they have a few injury concerns as well. It’s a big day for them with opening the new stand there, and perhaps all of those things add up to put them under a little bit of pressure.

“We see this as a great opportunity to go and take them on at Welford Road, and we’re going down there very much with that mindset.

Revealing tactical changes in the pipeline, he added: “Leicester’s pitch is right up there with the very smallest in the league, so there will be a big emphasis on getting the ball into the right areas and playing from there.

“It’s such a short field that you can really turn a defensive situation into a big offensive gain with the right tactics, and that’s been something we’ve worked hard at during the week.”

Expecting a full-on test from the champions despite a number of key injuries, Bates said: “If you go down to Leicester with the impression that they’re not a very capable side, then you’re going to come unstuck in a big way.

“Despite all of their injuries they still have a squad packed with quality internationals, and they have some really strong runners in the back row as well as guys like Aaron Mauger coming back. If you give them any sort of space they can tear you to shreds, but whilst we are mindful of that fact we are also going down there with plenty of optimism and belief that we can get the win.”

The last seven encounters between the two teams have been won by the home side on the day, whilst Newcastle have won just once at Welford Road since 1977: 25-19 in the Premiership on 30 December 1997.

Leicester Tigers have not scored a Guinness Premiership try for 179 minutes since Jordan Crane “crossed “ during last season’s final at Twickenham. The Tigers’ longest ever barren spell in the Premiership was 217 minutes in September and October 1999. Leicester have won their last 15 matches at Welford Road in all competitions.

Newcastle Falcons have been the “score draw” specialists of the Guinness Premiership, having started the season with two tied matches. No team has ever drawn three successive Premiership games. The Falcons’ last victory was coincidentally over the Tigers: 14-10 at Kingston Park on 27 March.

The teams:

Leicester: 15 Geordan Murphy (captain), 14 Johne Murphy, 13 Matt Smith, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Scott Hamilton, 10 Jeremy Staunton, 9 Harry Ellis, 8 Brett Deacon, 7 Craig Newby, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Ben Kay, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Mefin Davies, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Joe Duffey, 17 Julian White, 18 Robbie Harris, 19 Geoff Parling, 20 Ben Pienaar, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Aaron Mauger, 23 Lucas Amorosino.

Newcastle: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Gcobani Bobo, 13 Rob Vickerman, 12 Tane Tu’ipulotu, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Hall Charlton, 8 Filipo Levi, 7 Ed Williamson, 6 Brent Wilson, 5 Mark Sorenson, 4 James Hudson, 3 Carl Hayman (captain), 2 Rob Vickers, 1 Jon Golding.
Replacements: 16 Matt Thompson, 17 Micky Ward, 18 Laurence Ovens, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Adam Balding, 21 Chris Pilgrim, 22 Rob Miller, 23 Charlie Amesbury.

Date: Saturday 19 September
Venue: Welford Road
Time: 17::35 (16:35 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Small (37th Premiership game)
Assistant referees: Roy Maybank, Peter Huckle
TMO: Brian Abrahams, Graham Hughes