Meet the Welsh back-row trio starring for Leicester
Aaron Wainwright, Olly Cracknell and Tommy Reffell have helped Leicester make an encouraging start to the Premiership season, forming a Welsh back-row trio that combines carrying power, defence and turnover-winning skill. They had never played together before, but have started all three league matches, with Leicester beating Newcastle and Gloucester and narrowly losing to Saracens.
Wainwright joined from the Dragons after a nine-year Wales career that includes 70 caps, two World Cups and a Grand Slam; he scored his first Leicester try against Gloucester. Reffell has helped him settle in, while Cracknell and Wainwright provide physicality and Reffell is known for poaching the ball. Leicester are preparing to face Pau in the Champions Cup, a competition Wainwright has yet to play in.
- Leicester’s Welsh back row has started all three league games.
- Wainwright joined after 70 Wales caps and scored against Gloucester.
- He is set to make his Champions Cup debut against Pau.
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Leicester Tigers are one of the leading clubs in English rugby union, playing in the Premiership, the country’s top domestic league. The back row is the group of forwards who line up behind the scrum, and their jobs include carrying the ball, tackling and competing for possession.
Aaron Wainwright, Olly Cracknell and Tommy Reffell are Welsh international forwards. Wainwright arrived from the Dragons, a Welsh professional club, after a long career with Wales; Reffell and Cracknell were already at Leicester. Their different strengths help explain why the three are playing together.
The Premiership is separate from the Champions Cup, a European competition for clubs from several countries. Pau, Leicester’s upcoming opponents, are a French club, so the match will give Wainwright his first chance to play in that tournament.