44
LEICESTER TIGERS v BRISTOL BEARS
SUMMER LOVIN'
Far from being the final action of the season at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, today kickstarts a run of big games at the stadium... Today we can share in the season’s final home appearance of the league season as the relaxation of Covid measures finally allow some of our supporters to join the action, just in time ahead of some more big days this summer. The rugby calendar has been reshaped by the impact of the pandemic, with a new look to the schedule over each of the last two seasons, but it has also produced an opportunity for this iconic stadium to act as host for major fixtures in June and July. On Sunday June 25, Mattioli Woods Welford Road hosts its first international fixture since February 2008, when England A face Scotland A in the summer’s opening fixture for each team and a week later we welcome the historic Varsity Matches featuring women’s and men’s teams from the universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
The home nations have chosen to stay within these shores for their summer fixtures, with national coach Eddie Jones planning for England’s Tests with USA and Canada, as well as the ‘A’ fixture versus the country’s oldest rugby rivals. Tigers duo Matt Scott and Cameron Henderson this week learned of their selection in Scotland's summer squad led by coach Mike Blair in the absence of Gregor Townsend who is on Lions duty in South Africa. There are numerous members of the Tigers squad pushing their claims for inclusion in England’s plans for the summer too. On the last occasion that Tigers hosted an England fixture, it was Tigers forward Jordan Crane - now a coach at today’s visitors Bristol Bears - who captained the Saxons to a 31-13 victory over visitors Ireland A.
