Chuter: The new guys have settled in well
England and Leicester hooker George Chuter has revealed that the summer arrivals at the Premiership club have settled in well and everyone is ready to go ahead of the new season.
With the departure of Lewis Moody to Bath on a three-year-contract, there had been small elements of doubt that had started to creep into the minds of many members and fans of the club.
However, Chuter has said that the likes of Rob Hawkins and George Skivington, who joined the club this summer, have taken to the set-up at Leicester like ducks to water.
A positive environment
It's much easier for players to join a club that know the feeling of success and more importantly recent success. This often means that there is a positive environment and this helps new players settle in much more quickly. This in turn means the positive atmosphere will continue for longer.
Leicester have also signed one or two players that may feel they have a point to prove. Thomas Waldrom arrives from the Crusaders and will want to make it clear that he can cut it in the Premiership. This creates a positive and competitive atmosphere in the dressing room that is only going to help the club.
Another thing that will help is the experience that the likes of Chuter possess. He has played 174 times for Leicester and is likely to have been one of the players that helped the new signings to blend in quickly. He will have experienced new players arriving before and will know better than most how to make them feel comfortable at a new club.
He said: "The squad is looking good. A lot of the guys have had four or five weeks already having come back at the end of June and are familiar with what is required."
A much higher standard
There will be a much higher standard in the Premiership this season because of the amount of work that other clubs have been doing during pre-season. There are some very strong clubs in contention for the title.
Bath and Sale seem to have been the busiest of the clubs and have announced a high volume of summer signings. Leicester will be hoping that the new players at these clubs will not settle in as quickly and will take longer to have a positive effect for their club sides.
The reason this is so significant is because it means there are more clubs with large numbers of quality players. In previous Premiership seasons only two or three clubs had high standard squads but the winner of the league this season could come from a group of six.
Chuter added: "The new guys have bought into the work ethic. Everyone is doing well and we have had some very good sessions. There is a lot of emphasis on hard work as we build up to the game (against Brive) on Friday."
Betting advice
Leicester are in the driving seat when it comes to the betting market. They seem to have a very well balanced side despite some big losses from the playing squad this summer. There will still be a lot of positive feeling from their title win last season.
If you fancy them to win the league again this year then don't be afraid to back them but remember the standard of other sides. The better option could be to wait until the season has started, which will give you a better idea of who looks good and who is playing well. You can then take advantage of the form players in the best sides and cash in on the points they are scoring.
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