Slowly but surely, Leicester are starting to resemble the Leicester of old.
Having tried to change their stripes, under Steve Borthwick the Tigers have rediscovered their snarl, their work ethic and attention to detail.
Borthwick is not one to mind ruffling a few feathers, and nor is his new captain, Ellis Genge. Between them, they make a good ‘bad cop, bad cop’ combination, as their touchline spats last season showed.
No team scored more tries directly from lineout possession than Leicester last season (67%), therefore the new 50:22 trial law should suit them down to the ground.
Of course, you need a fly-half with the capability to put the ball on a sixpence to make it happen, and in George Ford they probably have the best person in the league to do that.
Last season Leicester struggled when Ford was away on international duty. Zach Henry, his stand-in, was not up to the job.
Now Leicester are likely to have the luxury of Ford and the returning Freddie Burns to dictate matters at 10.
With Ben Youngs and Richard Wigglesworth inside them, not to mention star-in-the-making, Jack van Poortvliet, it’s hard to think of a club in the Premiership with more strength-in-depth in the pivotal half-back position. Exeter and Quins, for example, rely far too heavily on Joe Simmonds and Marcus Smith.
What could stop Leicester from being serious title contenders is the lack of a prolific try scorer in the backs, but top 4, certainly at 11/2, is not a bad bet.
Ins: Freddie Burns (Toyota Industries Shuttles), Lewis Chessum (academy), Jacob Cusick (Academy), Bryce Hegarty (Queensland Reds), Tim Hoyt (Academy), Dan Richardson (Jersey Reds), Hosea Saumaki (Sunwolves), Seb Smith (academy), Eli Snyman (Benetton), Juan Pablo Socino (Saracens), Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls), Francois van Wyk (Northampton Saints), Dan Lancaster (Leeds Tykes), Gareth Evans (Ospreys)
Outs: Ollie Ashworth (released), Ryan Bower (London Irish), Jordan Coghlan (released) Luan de Bruin (Edinburgh), Joaquin Diaz Bonilla (Sharks), Osman Dimen (Bedford Blues), Zack Henry (Pau), Tomas Lavanini (ASM Clermont Auvergne), Henri Lavin (released), Sam Lewis (Calvisano), Darryl Marfo (released), Johnny McPhillips (Carcassone), Harry Simmons (Jersey Reds, season-long loan), Kit Smith (released), Ben White (London Irish), Jordan Olowofela (Dragons season-long loan)
