Chairman Neil Golding's Leicester Tigers programme notes

Chairman Neil Golding's programme notes vs Leicester Tigers (7/3/20)

On behalf of everyone connected with the club it is my pleasure to welcome the Leicester Tigers team, management and supporters to Allianz Park for this afternoon’s Gallagher Premiership encounter.

Since the last home game, as you will of course be aware, there have been a couple of excellent performances on the pitch.  Those of you who braved the conditions will know that the win against Sale Sharks happened in wild conditions which rivalled those up at Murrayfield for the England game. And a 27-21 away win against Northampton Saints, after being 12-0 down early on, is never something to be sniffed at! With so many players unavailable for several reasons, congratulations to Mark and the squad on a job well done.

A couple of things to note about recent off-field matters:

-   We continue to make good progress with respect to appointing a new CEO.  The club won’t be making any public comment until a contract has been signed and if that takes an extended period, then we are happy to wait to make the right appointment.

-   The same applies for announcing our playing squad for next season. There has been a lot of media speculation, which is out of our control, but we will only make a formal announcement once all details have been finalised. On that note, I would like to take this opportunity to wish Liam Williams and his family the very best of luck after his return to the Scarlets was recently confirmed.

-    Like all other clubs and sports bodies across the UK and beyond, we are continuing to monitor the position with respect to the global spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) and we are hoping that it doesn’t have any impact on any remaining fixtures. We will of course be taking every precaution to ensure that everyone connected with the Club adheres to the very best medical advice on this matter.

In more positive news, there is great excitement for The Showdown and I was delighted to learn how well ticket sales have gone to date for the March 28^th encounter with Harlequins in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Over 50,000 tickets have already been sold and it will be an incredible encounter in one of the truly great sporting arenas. If you haven’t booked your tickets, we suggest you do so early to avoid disappointment.

A final point to note is that very many people involved in the club, plus hundreds of others in the wider rugby community, attended a dinner to raise money for the Matt Hampson Foundation last week.  Over £250,000 was raised to help continue the great work that the Foundation does. Many of you will have come across Matt and the work he has done since his tragic accident in 2005.  For those who haven’t, if you have a spare moment, have a look at the Foundation’s website – a very worthwhile cause.

Enjoy the game,

Neil Golding