Andy Goode backs Leicester Tigers to push Glasgow Tigers all the way

Andy Goode has backed former side Leicester Tigers to push reigning URC champions Glasgow Warriors all the way in the Investec Champions Cup round of 16.

Leicester make the trip north after finishing third in Pool 1 while Glasgow ensured a home tie thanks to a second-place finish in Pool 4, behind three-time winners Toulon.

The Saturday night clash - kicking off at 8pm - is live and exclusive on Premier Sports with Goode behind the microphone, and it offers the East Midlands team a chance to bounce back from their 29-22 Gallagher Premiership Rugby defeat at home to Saracens last time out, with Goode excited to see how the clash of styles unfolds.

“It is going to be incredibly tough for Leicester,” he said. “Glasgow are a tremendous outfit, and you do not win the URC without being a very good team.

“I do believe as an ex-Leicester player and now a Leicester fan that they have the ability to go and win it though.

“There is a lot of experience in there. [Julian] Montoya at hooker is a real driver in terms of leadership, physicality and the set piece battle.

“Handre Pollard has played in and kicked clutch kicks in World Cup finals and semi-finals, so he will bring all his experience and there is also Freddie Steward and Jack van Poortvliet who will be in the mix too.

“Glasgow play free-flowing rugby with a fast offload game, led by George Horne who I think is a wonderful player. The big question will be can the Leicester defence slow them down at the breakdown and slow the way Glasgow love to play down?

“Ultimately, it is a knockout game, it is do or die and it could well be a close game."

Goode is a key member of the Premier Sports punditry team this weekend as international club rugby’s knockout action returns. With 12 live EPCR games this weekend, it’s wall-to-wall rugby on the UK broadcaster, and they have added further global competitions to their offering in the form of Japan’s JLR1 and USA’s Major League Rugby.

The two leagues will be shown as part of a new 24/7 rugby channel, Premier Sports Rugby, while the broadcaster will now host more than 400 live rugby games every season from competitions across 11 rugby nations.

With the British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia fast approaching, former fly-half Goode, who won four consecutive league titles and two Champions Cups during his time at Welford Road, also expects Finn Russell to be the starting No.10 for Andy Farrell come the first Test in July.

Goode backs Russell ahead of the likes of English duo Fin Smith and Marcus Smith and Ireland’s Sam Prendergast.

“It is straightforward at the minute,” he continued. “Finn Russell for me.

“He is a world-class operator. He is physical in defence, which no one gives him credit for, and with his attacking game, he puts other players into space and sends them through and manages games.

“I think he is the complete package right now as a ten.”

It was also recently announced that Farrell, who is on secondment from his Ireland head coach role, would be considering French-based players for Lions selection

The 49-year-old, who was an assistant Lions coach under Warren Gatland in 2013 and 2017, wants to remain 'open-minded' about his squad and Goode believes the cross-Channel door has been left open for one man in particular.

“I believe it is for Jack Willis,” he added. “He is an X-factor player that has gone over to Toulouse and his game has really grown to the point where, behind Antoine Dupont, he is the next man on the team sheet.

“You do not get into a team like that without being a damn good player and I think the main reason that question has been asked is because of Willis."

Andy Goode is part of the Premier Sports team bringing every game live from the knock-out stages of the Investec Champions Cup with 12 big games this weekend including Northampton Saints' home tie against Clermont, Saracens trip to Toulon, Harlequins clash with Leinster at Croke Park, Leicester's battle against Glasgow Warriors in Scotland and Sale's trip to Champions Toulouse. Plus there's live coverage of Gloucester and Bath Rugby's EPCR Challenge Cup Round of 16 play-off games away in France.

Visit www.premiersports.tv to subscribe at just £11.99 per month.

Rugby on another level - Premier Sports is the home of Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup with 80 games live throughout the competition. Every knock-out game in the Investec Champions Cup will be live on Premier Sports. Visit: www.premiersports.tv to sign-up.