Author: admin

Sam Harrison grew up close to didi Rugby HQ in Hinckley and has since made his name as a professional rugby player a few miles away at Welford Road playing for Leicester Tigers.

After making his debut in 2008/9, he forged his way into the first team as a regular in 2010 and has been a valuable member of it ever since. At the time of writing, he is closing in on 150 appearances for his home town club.

Always a popular member of the squad, he was named Players’ Player of the Season in 2014/15 after 18 appearances.

One of the reasons why Sam is so popular to the Leicester Tigers faithful is his versatility and ability to fit in at any place right across the back line. A tenacious scrum-half by trade, he has often filled in at fly-half and has also played on the wing on several occasions too.

Geordan Murphy was dubbed ‘the George Best of rugby’ during his playing days because of the amazing things he could do with an oval ball.

Now he is transferring that knowledge to the coaching arena and Leicester Tigers are the beneficiaries of his skills set.

It was also the club which helped make Geordan the Premiership’s most decorated player. When the Irishman finished his 16th season at Welford Road, he had won eight league titles with the Tigers and two European Cups.

Over that time, he made 322 appearances for his club, 72 Test appearances for his country and earned seven caps for the British & Irish Lions.

Geordan became assistant backs coach when he joined the Tigers back-room staff and was promoted to interim head coach after matt O’Connor’s sacking in 2018.

He believes strongly in the values of didi rugby.

“As an ambassador, I wanted to endorse didi rugby because it improves the activity levels and skills of youngsters, while also developing their self-confidence using rugby as a tool to do this. Perfect,” he said.

Harry Ellis had a stellar career with his home-town club the Leicester Tigers and made 173 appearances during a ten-year career at Welford Road.

During that time, he went on to make 27 appearances for England and was capped by the British & Irish Lions on the 2009 tour of South Africa.

A persistent knee injury forced Ellis to retire from the game in 2010 but he has maintained an interest in the game by coaching at various levels.

Ellis first started playing rugby from a very young age and joined South Leicester as a six-year-old. He went on to represent the Midlands at every level and eventually joined the Leicester Tigers Academy and made his first team debut in France in 2001.

From that moment on, he never looked back and the local lad became a firm fans’ favourite on the terraces at Welford Road for the next decade, not only for his local connections, but for his tenacious spirit and deadly burst of pace.

As well as his international recognition, Ellis won all three rugby club competitions: the Anglo Welsh Cup, the Premiership and Europe’s Holy Grail, the Heineken Cup.

It is extremely unlikely that any of today’s modern rugby professionals will top the amount of performances that Graham Rowntree made for Leicester Tigers.

As part of the fabled ABC Club, with Darren Garforth and Richard Cockerill, the loose head prop played 398 times for his club during a stellar and well-decorated 17-year career.

He also earned international recognition for both England and the British & Irish Lions, with 54 caps for his country.

When Graham ended his playing career, he quickly moved into coaching to pass on some of the vast knowledge he has picked up from a host of world-class coaches during his playing days.

Starting his coaching career with Leicester, Graham was fast-tracked into the England set-up where he stayed for eight years before leaving in December 2015.

He was also forwards’ coach for the British & Irish Lions during the winning series in Australia in 2013 and is now forwards in the Aviva Premiership for Harlequins.

Former Scotland international and Leicester City footballer Matt Elliott is known for his exploits with a round ball, instead of an oval one.

But, having seen what Vicky Macqueen’s programme has to offer, he became an didi Rugby ambassador because of the values it promotes to young children. Values that he believes are central to getting young people involved in any sport.

“I am really pleased to be an ambassador of didi Rugby. When I first heard about the programme I thought it was a fantastic concept and now having seen it in practice I am glad to be involved,” he said.

“I firmly believe that anything encouraging children to be active in any sport, whilst learning through play and gaining confidence is a good thing. Didi rugby is certainly that!

“Vicky has created a programme that encourages little ones to enjoy sport and physical activity whilst learning new skills and developing concepts like fair play and teamwork.”

Natasha Hunt is a feisty scrum-half who plays for England and club side Lichfield.

She has been within the England set-up from a young age and has worked her way up to the national team with whom she has won numerous honours.

Starting with the England Under-20s, Natasha moved up to England A, England Sevens and then the national team where she enjoyed a memorable time helping them win the World Cup in France in 2014.

She has also won the Six Nations title, been a tournament winner on the Sevens circuit and represented Great Britain at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Natasha still has as much love for the sport of rugby as she has always had since she began playing the game as a child.

“I have played a lot of different sports growing up and I just think there’s something really unique about rugby as there is such a strong bond off the pitch because of what you do on it,” she said.

Gary Street is the most successful England rugby coach of all time.

As head coach of the England Women’s team from 2007, Gary led them to a glorious World Cup victory on France in 2014. A 21-9 win in the final against Canada saw England crowned as the best team in the world.

With him in charge, England also won five Six Nations titles on the bounce, four Nations Cups and four European Cups.

That success earned Gary numerous awards and a nomination for BBC Sport Personality of the Year while his side were winning the Team of the Year at the same high-profile event.

Since leaving his post with the national team, he helped coach Aylesford Bulls to a league and cup double in 2016/17 and that side is now playing under the Harlequins banner in the inaugural Tyrrells Women’s Premier XVs.

As part of an extended role with Quins, Gary is Academy Coach Development officer for the club working with coaches in the Developing Player Programme.

With the development of young players having always been close to his heart, Gary says he is delighted to be associated with a business that has been launched to do just that.

“I am really proud to have become an ambassador for didi rugby,” he said. “It is fun and entertaining and a great way to get kids active in the sport.

“Everyone should have didi rugby in their lives!”

Louis Deacon is quite simply a legend at Leicester Tigers.

Born and bred in the county, the lock forward was an almost ever-present at Welford Road for a decade and a half.

During that time, he made 274 appearances for the club and earned England recognition to win 29 caps. His debut came in 2005 against Samoa and he was involved in the France World Cup during 2007, where England reached the final.

He joined the Leicester Tigers Academy in 1997 and worked his way through the ranks to make is first team debut in 2000.

A strong and uncompromising second row, Deacon was known for doing the hard yards at rucks and mauls and was tremendously reliable for club and country.

During a hugely successful career, he played in two European Cup finals and five Premiership finals for his club before being forced to retire through injury in 2015.

Family has always been a big part of his life with brother Brett a team mate at Leicester during his playing days.

Rugby has always remained a big part of his life with coaching stints at Moseley, Coventry and with the Spanish national side.

He became an ambassador with didi because of his wish to spread the values of the sport to young children as early as possible in their development process.

“What Vicky and her team are doing with the didi rugby programme is great,” said Deacon.

“The values that they help instill in young people like discipline and respect at such a young age is brilliant.

“Having that as a foundation, while also having fun with friends, and the obvious health benefits for active youngsters is also pivotal.

“Getting them involved in such a fun programme at such an early age gives children the perfect start to an active life in sport.”

Sarah Hunter MBE has won over 100 caps for her country and enjoyed a long and glittering career in the game that is far from finished.

Now playing for Loughborough Lightning in the Tyrrell’s Premier League, the No.8 previously played for Bristol and Lichfield.

She began playing the game as a nine-year-old at primary school where she started off playing Rugby League as a Wigan supporter. She moved into the Union code as a teenager and never looked back.

Sarah quickly became a permanent fixture in the England squad and played a full role in the 2010 World Cup. With a host of medals at club and representative level, Sarah was a key member of the England team that won the 2014 World Cup in France with victory over Canada. She has numerous Six Nations medals and Grand Slams under her belt.

She was awarded an MBE for Services to Rugby and became the World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year in 2016. Her playing and leadership skills are still widely respected throughout the game.