Fly-half George Ford expects fellow new signing Jonny May to make a big impression at Leicester Tigers this season.
May joined the club a few weeks after Ford in a swap deal that saw lock Ed Slater going in the opposite direction to Gloucester.
Leicester have had a positive pre-season, claiming three wins from their three warm-up matches – maybe they were enjoying their free time playing the games on offer at www.chancehill.com. The latest was a 40-14 drubbing of Ospreys last Friday in which May grabbed a brace.
Ford, who was on the England tour of Argentina with May in June, believes the clinical winger can cause some ‘serious damage’ this season.
And the man who will be dictating the backline from number 10 has also revealed that May sought his advice before deciding on the move.
“I went on the England tour to Argentina with Jonny in the summer and I had no clue he was thinking of coming here to Leicester at the time,” Ford told the Leicester Mercury.
“He then gave me a few phone calls to see what it was like here.
“He just wants to get better as a rugby player and he probably realised that he needed a change.
“He loved playing at Gloucester but if he wanted to become a better player he needed to be challenged in a different way.
“It’s a tough decision and not the easiest but fair play to him for making it.
“Our game this season will be built around strong foundations but guys like Jonny and Telusa Veinau are good finishers and they want the ball.
“We want to try and get them on the ball as much as possible because we think they can cause some serious damage.
“It’s up to us – the guys on the inside – to make that space for them to work in.”
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