Leicester Tigers

Leicester Tigers
Full nameLeicester Football Club
Nickname(s)Tigers
Founded3 August 1880; 144 years ago (1880-08-03)
LocationLeicester, England
Ground(s)Mattioli Woods Welford Road (Capacity: 25,849)
ChairmanPeter Tom
CEOAndrea Pinchen
Coach(es)Michael Cheika
Captain(s)Julián Montoya
Most appearancesDavid Matthews (502)
Top scorerDusty Hare (4,507)
Most triesPercy Lawrie (206)
League(s)Premiership Rugby
2023–248th
1st kit
2nd kit
First match
28 October 1880
0 – 0 v Moseley
Largest win
100-0 v Liverpool St Helens, 11 April 1992
Largest defeat
10-85 v Barbarians, 4 June 2000
Official website
www.leicestertigers.com

Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Rugby Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.

The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home matches at Mattioli Woods Welford Road in the south of the city. The club has been known by the nickname Tigers since at least 1885. In the 2023–24 Premiership Rugby season Tigers finished 8th, this entitled them to compete in the 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup. The current head coach is Michael Cheika who was appointed in June 2024.

Leicester have won 21 major titles. They were European Champions twice, back-to-back in 2001 and 2002; have won a record 11 English Championships, five RFU Knockout Cups and three Anglo-Welsh Cups, most recently in 2017. Leicester most recently won the Premiership Rugby title in the 2022 season, and appeared in a record nine successive Premiership finals, from 2005 to 2013. Leicester is one of only three teams never to have been relegated from the top division. Leicester have appeared in five European finals, the joint-second most overall, as well as the two victories they have also lost finals three times, in 1997, 2007 and 2009. In 2021 they played in the European Rugby Challenge Cup final.

Six Leicester Tigers players were members of the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final winning England side including captain Martin Johnson.