OTD: COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL 1927
Kent 22
Leicestershire 12
Rectory Field, Blackheath, 12 March
Doug Prentice captained an all-Leicester XV. Leicestershire won their only title in 1925.
DOMESTIC CUP GAMES
Overall: P8 W6 D0 L2
2019 Pool (h) won 27-7
2017 Final (Stoop) won 16-12
2015 SF (h) lost 22-30
2011 Pool (a) lost 10-35
2001 R6 (h) won 27-0
1997 Pool (h) won 50-20*
1995 R4 (a) won 27-0
1993 QF (h) won 76-0
*Cheltenham & Gloucester Cup
OTD: MIDLAND COUNTIES CUP 1887
Rugby 3
Tigers 0
Semi-final (a.e.t.), Rugby, 12 March
0-0 at full time, this was the first ever extra time match for the Tigers. It would be 1898 before they won the cup.
OTD: JOHN PLAYER CUP 1983
Tigers 18 (Youngs 2t, Hare 2c 1p, Cusworth 1d)
Harlequins 4
Quarter-final
Welford Road, 12 March
The clubs met three times in the cup during the 1980s, with the Tigers winning the lot.
Nice nod to the 1981 John Player Cup final this week.
LAST 10 v EXETER
28 Dec 25 (a) lost 10-24
4 Jan 25 (h) won 28-15
21 Sep 24 (a) won 17-14
18 May 24 (h) won 40-22
23 Dec 23 (a) lost 10-29
16 Apr 23 (h) won 62-19
10 Sep 22 (a) lost 20-24
27 Mar 22 (a) won 22-17
18 Sep 21 (h) won 34-19
20 Mar 21 (a) lost 21-47
OTD: ZURICH PREMIERSHIP 2005
Tigers 15 (Tuilagi 1t, Abraham 1t, Vesty 1c Broadfoot 1c)
London Irish 6
Welford Road, 11 March
The Tigers embark on a new era, playing their first ever game in tight fitting shirts. They remain top of the table, ahead of Wasps.
Born: 11 March 1994
Tigers Career: 2022-25
Appearances: 54
Tries: 8
Points: 480
Caps: South Africa 85
Meanwhile at the Tigers he played 54 times. His final appearance was defeat in the June 2025 Premiership final to Bath. Pollard then returned to Pretoria with the Bulls.
The fly-half joined from Montpellier, making his first appearance as a replacement against Saracens in October 2022. Pollard had won the World Cup with South Africa in 2019 and did so again in 2023
HANDRÉ POLLARD
Double World Cup winner Handré Pollard was born on 11 March 1994. He played for Leicester for three seasons.
Born: 11 March 1882
Died: 2 October 1959
Tigers Career: 1902-1912
Appearances: 132
Tries: 27
Points: 81
A captain in the 8th Battalion of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment - the Tigers - he also added two first class cricket matches for Leicestershire in 1921 to his sporting exploits.
His Leicester debut was at Plymouth in January 1902, where he scored a try, with a final appearance versus Headingley in March 1912. In between he was part of the Tigers teams that won the 1909 and 1910 Midland Counties Cup finals.
Smith got around the Edwardian Midlands as an in-demand back during a more flexible era for player registration. He played 49 times for Northampton, and once each for Nottingham and Nuneaton.
JOHN WILLOUGHBY DIXIE SMITH
Born on 11 March 1882, Dixie Smith played 132 times for Leicester between 1902 and 1912.
Born: 11 March 1961
Tigers Career: 1981-93
Appearances: 223
Tries: 8
Points: 32
Perhaps the only player to have his own supporters’ banner regularly held aloft at Welford Road, the ‘Wayne Richardson Appreciation Society’ would have seen him finishing in November 1993 against Cambridge University.
That final would end in defeat, however he partnered Stuart Redfern and Harry Roberts during the victorious 1987-88 Courage League campaign, playing in 9 of the 10 games.
He was on the bench in the 1981 and 1983 John Player Cup finals, finally starting in the 1989 Pilkington Cup final.
WAYNE PHILIP RICHARDSON
Leicester have never been short of a decent prop or two. Wayne Richardson was born on 11 March 1961 and made 223 appearances for the club.
Born: 11 March 1987
Tigers Career: 2012-18
Appearances: 131
Tries: 7
Points: 35
Caps: Samoa 33
Mulipola marked his final Tigers appearance - and his 100th in the Premiership - off the bench at Sale in May 2018 with a conversion attempt. He left for Newcastle that summer and then Saracens and Doncaster Knights.
With a Premiership winners medal at the end of the 2012-13 season, he received a surprising honour in 2013-14 when he was awarded the club’s Try of the Season for his effort against Exeter at Welford Road.
youtu.be/HGf7RtHqX3g?...
Mulipola’s giant frame was flexible enough to cover both sides of the front row. He made his debut on 7 January 2012 versus Wasps, and was part of the team that beat Northampton in the Anglo-Welsh Cup final in March that year.
LOGOVI’I MULIPOLA
Born on 11 March 1987 in Manono, Western Samoa, Logovi’i Mulipola made 131 appearances for Leicester between 2012 and 2018.
They also lifted the Courage League trophy in 1988 and 1995. The most recent silverware was beating Newcastle 20-12 on 13 April 2002, guaranteeing the Premiership title with three fixtures remaining.
The only time a Leicester first XV has won a cup at Welford Road was on 5 April 1913 when they beat Belgrave Premier Works 39-8 in the Midland Counties Cup final.
1994 Bath lost 9-21
1996 Bath lost 15-16
1997 Sale won 9-3
2007 Ospreys won 42-35
2008 Ospreys lost 6-23
2012 Northampton (Sixways) won 26-14
2017 Exeter (Stoop) won 16-12
2024 Gloucester (a) lost 13-23
TIGERS IN NATIONAL CUP FINALS
Overall: P15 W8 D0 L7
Home: No matches
Away: P1 W0 D0 L1
Neutral: P14 W8 D0 L6
1978 Gloucester lost 3-6
1979 Moseley won 15-12
1980 London Irish won 21-9
1981 Gosforth won 22-15
1983 Bristol lost 22-28
1989 Bath lost 6-10
1993 Harlequins won 23-16
