With the rugby back at Welford Road, Leicester Tigers treated the home crowd to a 27-7 victory over Exeter Chiefs in Round 2 of the Premiership Rugby Cup.
And whilst the Rugby World Cup has seen a re-shuffle of the usual rugby schedule for English clubs, Tigers’ Global Partner Clubs around the world have already kicked off their respective seasons.
Rugby Colorno
Last year marked a special season for Rugby Colorno as the senior side were promoted to the top flight of Italian rugby for the first time ever.
History will be made for Colorno when they make their Peroni Top 12 debut against Leicester Tigers’ European Rugby Challenge Cup opponents Calvisano on October 19.
Former Tigers back-rower Freddie Tuilagi Jr has joined the Colorno set-up and has featured in a number of league cup games to kick off the season.
The club held a presentation in early September celebrating teams participating in the 2020 Championships while the club’s junior sections started their pre-season preparations ahead of the new season.
A group of young players also travelled to England to take part in Tigers’ residential rugby camp in Bishop Burton earlier this year, which saw the youngsters take part in a week-long training camp.
The women’s first team will be aiming to regain their championship now belonging to Villorba while the club has also set up a new seconds team who will compete in the fifth division Italy Serie C2.
Dendermonde RC
This summer saw the Flanders club’s senior players recover following a season which saw the side win the Belgian domestic cup, before a six-week preseason programme and two-day tournament.
Before the start of the season, Dendemonde’s men’s and women’s team took part in the BeNeCup 2019 – which sees the top four teams in Belgium and the Netherlands go head-to-head.
Alongside Dendermonde were Tigers’ Dutch Global Partner Club, RC DIOK, with both teams pitched in Pool A and B respectively.
The women’s final saw the Belgian champions beat the Netherlands champions AAC RC 24-10, with a young side that includes nine players under the age of 20.
The men’s side made it through the group stages but were eventually knocked out by Belgian counterparts La Hulpe in the semi-final as the teams prepare for the start of the Belgian rugby season in October.
RC DIOK
RC DIOK were another of Tigers’ Global Partner Clubs to finish last season with silverware, as the men’s team lifted the Ereklasse league title for the first time in 20 years.
An achievement that saw the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte join in the celebrations, DIOK will be hoping to retain the title during the upcoming season.
RC DIOK also took part in the BeNeCup alongside fellow Global Parnter Club Dendermonde RC. Unfortunately, the two teams didn’t have to face one another in what would have been the first meeting between Tigers Global Partner Clubs.
KL Tigers
Tigers’ first-ever Global Partner Club, Kuala Lumpur Tigers, kicked off their summer with a series of Leicester Tigers rugby camps in Malaysia as part of their end of season celebrations.
Tigers prop Greg Bateman joined young players for a week-long camp to share the secrets of success on the pitch, as well as joining their presentation evening which brings together rugby players of all ages and abilities.
KL Tigers 1st XV took part in the KRS Selangor Diamond League which started in late June, fielding more than 10 debutantes and a 17-year-old academy graduate. After winning all their pool games, the team reached a fourth successive cup final but missed out to Royal Town Warriors.
From a junior rugby perspective, seasonal weather conditions have affected some regions with some schools closed for several days and little or no sports activities for the first four weeks of term. Youth teams will then turn their attention to training and ending the term on a high at the Cobra Junior 10’s.
Delhi Hurricanes
India’s Delhi Hurricanes men’s team secured a third All India & South Asia Tournament championship beating Bombay Gym 26-6 in a muddy final.
The women’s team lost their final but once again Delhi’s dominance in reaching both finals solidfied thier positoon as one of the Asia's best rugby club.
You can follow all the latest news from each of our Global Partner Clubs by following their social pages @delhihurricane @Rugby_DRC @KLTigersRFC Rugby Colorno and @lrcdiokrugby keep an eye out across the Tigers website for news throughout the summer.
