One of the positives to come out of a difficult night at Sale Sharks last Friday was the return to action of Harry Simmons to Leicester Tigers colours.
The 21-year-old scrum-half from Norfolk, who recently agreed new contract terms with the Tigers, made his first appearance of the season at Sale - and his first start in Premiership rugby - after recovering from a knee injury.
With Ben Youngs away with England, and Sam Harrison and Ben White both hurt in the win over Wasps a week earlier, the return of Simmons could not have come at a better time for Tigers.
Head coach Geordan Murphy said: “We were pretty much down to the bare bones with players missing and we only had nine fit backs ahead of the game. Harry Simmons was our only scrum-half available and he has only just come back from injury.
“But he was a real positive. He has been out for a long time and he did a good job.
“Harry got 80 minutes and was very, very tired at the end of the game, but it’s great to have him back. He’ll be good for the run-out.”
Simmons was among nine Tigers academy graduates named in Murphy’s squad for the game at Sale and, although George Worth dropped out with injury just ahead of kick-off, his place went to current academy player Freddie Steward who is still a pupil at Norwich School and has played his part in the back-to-back title wins in the Under-18 League.
