More than 200 Leicester Tigers supporters joined the club for the first Open Forum of the season at Welford Road on Tuesday evening.
Tigers chief executive Simon Cohen, head of rugby operations Ged Glynn, scout Dusty Hare and interim head coach Geordan Murphy headed the panel in the 1880 Suite at the stadium.
Cohen opened the evening by addressing the events leading up to the appointment of Murphy in his new role and Murphy spoke to warm applause as he outlined his hopes for the team.
Success is silverware. I love the place and Welford Road has a knock effect in building the atmosphere and building the fortress.”
Geordan Murphy, interim head coach
The evening was split into two question-and-answer sessions with the first half focusing on the club’s recruitment and retention policies from youth to first-team level.
Ged Glynn and Dusty Hare shared the way the club work on building a competitive squad and nurturing young talent from within as well as answering questions on the Premiership Rugby salary cap, development and academy pathways, Tigers links with other clubs, player loan options and balancing the senior squad.
On wider issues, the panel responded to questions on the financial state of the professional game and how these affect recruitment, alongside the club’s work within schools, colleges and clubs in the region and further afield.
Young players at every level still want to wear the red, white and green jersey”
Dusty Hare, club scout
After a break, the floor was opened to questions regarding all aspects of the club.
Cohen talked about the support for Murphy in his new role at the head of the coaching team and clarified the working of the club’s rugby committee and board of directors in the decision-making process as well as the commercial sides of the business at Welford Road.
Every opportunity will be given to Geordan to make the most of the role. There is a large support staff and a lot of great people working with the players and we all want the team to be successful."
Simon Cohen, chief executive
Murphy shared his message for fans to get behind the team, as well as the importance of the Welford Road crowd in making the stadium such a tough prospect for visiting teams as he looked back at more than 20 seasons as a player and a coach at Tigers.
Tigers shared comprehensive updates from the forum on the club’s Twitter account, which was well received for its coverage as well as responding directly to messages from supporters.
Massive credit to you for what you’ve done tonight, especially the social stuff. Transparency to be admired. Well played and best of luck to the team this weekend.
— Ian Stringer (@StringerSport) September 4, 2018
