Leicester Tigers U18s academy squad are the centre of a new behind-the-scenes documentary showcasing how the club nurtures developing talent and the success that it brings on the pitch.
Online rugby website RugbyPass's cameras followed the players and coaches on and off the pitch as they saw what it takes to build a championship winning side.
The documentary features six 20-minute episodes with episode one airing last Sunday, April 14 on the RugbyPass website.
You can watch the first episode by clicking here.
The Tigers academy successfully defended their 2017/18 Under 18 Academy League championship and continues to bring through the best young talent.
The likes of Tommy Reffell, Ben White and Jordan Olowofela have all graduated from the Tigers Academy in recent years and have gone on to feature in the senior squad, joining the established names of Cole, Tuilagi and Youngs.
Former Tigers academy graduate Jim Hamilton went onto make 64 appearances in a Tigers shirt and helped drive the project forward.
“Leicester Tigers were the first club that gave me my opportunity to play professional rugby”, Jim explains. “They supported me both financially and personally when I was 18 years old and the Academy gave me a foothold into a life away from the streets of Coventry. I owe the club a lot.
“I had this idea to showcase what it means to play for Leicester and what it really takes to make it at this special club.
The club is going through a tough time at the minute and it was a great time to showcase the belief that is in the next generation of player coming through.”
Tigers academy manager Dave Wilks and his team were also happy to support the project.
“I had a couple of positive meetings with Jim and he is very passionate about the impact the academy had on his life”, he says.
“My consent was based on the documentary being very truthful and not setting up any situations. We consulted the players, parents and staff who were all keen to see how the project unfolded.
"This type of media is more common place in the modern game. There are cameras in the changing rooms, in the tunnel and quite often on the pitch in players’ faces and it is a good learning experience.
“The idea was not show how much the culture of the club is still alive and how passionate and dedicated people and players are to make the club the very best in the world.”
You can will be able to watch the second episode on Sunday, April 21 at 6.00pm.
