History of Leicester Tigers
[13] Crumbie has been credited with dragging the club to national prominence, he disbanded reserve and third teams making the First XV an invitation side and introducing players from all over the country.
[15] Leicester's first defense of the cup was against local club Belgrave St Peter's, dispatched 68–3, and Tigers progressed to the final again in 1899 first requiring a replay to beat old rivals Moseley in the semi-finals.
On 30 January 1909, the day Leicester hosted an England v France test match, the RFU announced the outcome of the inquiry clearing the club on all charges in what has been described as a whitewash.
[23][24] Within six weeks of the Armistice being signed Tigers were playing their first game, facing the 4th battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment in what was also the official opening of the Members Stand on the north side of the ground.
Subscriptions for stand seats was 25 shillings (£50 in 2016 money) and unemployed men gained free entry to the end terraces on production of their out of work card.
[29] Leicester welcomed their first French visitors on 28 December 1922 when Racing club de France formed part of Tigers' Christmas festival, the hosts winning 4–0 thanks to a Haselmere drop goal.
The roof of the Crumbie Stand had been damaged in air raids, there was a collapsed wall at the Welford Road end and significant repairs to the clubhouse were required where the Army had bored holes into the floor.
The club ran two teams that year; the First XV and Leicestershire Harlequins, named for the war-time side that provided rugby for locals on leave or passing servicemen.
They beat Nottingham, local junior club Westleigh and Kettering to qualify for the 1976–77 Cup where a win against Wakefield lead to a second round defeat against Moseley.
[56] It took 6 years before Leicester were drawn at home in the cup but in 1977–78 they received four in a row beating Hartlepool Rovers, Rosslyn Park, Northampton and Coventry on their way to a first Twickenham final against Gloucester.
Roundhay, Bristol and Sale were beaten in the early rounds; London Scottish in the semi-finals became the first cup game to go to extra time before Les Cusworth kicked two drop goals to seal a fourth successive trip to Twickenham.
A new generation of players who were to shape the club made their debuts in the early '80s; Dean Richards in 1982 against Neath, John Wells in 1983 against Harlequins and Rory Underwood in 1983 against Birmingham.
In what was Dusty Hare's 394th and last game for the club Tigers lead 6–0 at half time but lost 10–6 with Stuart Barnes scoring Bath's winning try in the 78th minute.
The Somerset side clinched the league on the final day of the season; despite Bath only drawing at home with Sale, Tigers were unable to beat Harlequins at Welford Road, losing 21–19.
Dreams of the double were dashed by Richmond in the quarter-finals of the cup, Johnson received a white card (at the time signifying 10 minutes in the sin bin) and during his absence the Londoners scored their two tries in a 15–13 win.
Having dominated domestic rugby for the previous two years Leicester were desperate to avenge their 1997 Heineken Cup Final defeat and claim their first European title.
Leon Lloyd's try gave Leicester a 19–15 win, despite Martin Johnson spending time in the sin bin, to set up the final in the Parc des Princes against Stade Francais.
They opened the season with a loss away to Newcastle, having rested their summer Lions, but try bonus point wins in their next three games quickly saw Leicester return to the top of the table.
In the league Leicester struggled until a last minute last day try by Tom Varndell beat Harlequins to set up a rematch of the previous seasons Premiership Final against Gloucester.
Tigers retained their Premiership title on 30 May 2010 as they defeated Saracens 33–27, coming back from behind 5 times in the match the win was secured by a crucial late try scored by Dan Hipkiss.
Tries from Niall Morris, Graham Kitchener, Manu Tuilagi and Vereniki Goneva sealed the match, with the final three tries coming after Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley's red card for verbally abusing referee Wayne Barnes.
[112] The sacking of Richard Cockerill did not improve results, Tigers lost heavily in Europe to Racing 92[113] and were beaten by Glasgow Warriors 43–0 at Welford Road,[114] the club's worst defeat at home in a competitive match.
[117][118] On 20 March, the day after the Anglo-Welsh Cup victory, the club then made an announcement that Matt O'Connor would return as head coach with immediate effect, replacing the departing Aaron Mauger.
[129] After a delayed start to the season due to the 2019 Rugby World Cup Tigers fortunes did not improve and in October speculation began that Steve Borthwick would be brought in to coach the club.
[141] The completion of the delayed 2019–20 Premiership Rugby season between August and October saw another 11th-place finish for Leicester, saved from relegation only by a points deduction from Saracens for breaching the salary cap.
[149] A week later Leicester overcame an 18 point deficit in the second half to beat Connacht, a Hosea Saumaki try sealing the win on the final play of the game, and secure progress to their first Champions Cup knock out stages since 2016.
[150] In Europe, Leicester progressed past Clermont Auvergne over two legs, despite getting red cards in both matches,[151][152] but lost at home to Leinster 23-14, after falling behind 20-0 in the first half to the Irish side.
[154] Tigers' winger Chris Ashton broke the Premiership Rugby all-time try scoring record in this match, his hat-trick taking him to 95 career league tries.
[154] In the semi-final they faced local rivals Northampton Saints, but much of the build up was focused on recently retired former captain Tom Youngs whose wife, Tiffany, passed away from cancer in week preceding the match.
His brother Ben Youngs started the match, and it was his half back partner George Ford who inspired the victory scoring a "full house" with a try, conversion, penalty & drop goal for 22 points in a 27-13 win.
