Leicester move has made me a better leader, says Wainwright

Nation.Cymru staff/agencies

Aaron Wainwright believes his move to Leicester has made him a better leader as he prepares to return to Wales duty against Japan.

The 29-year-old back-rower joined the Tigers this summer after nine years with Dragons and says the demands of his new club have brought benefits on and off the field.

Wainwright has helped Leicester reach top spot in the early weeks of the Gallagher Prem season and will start at number eight for Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.

“I’ve found it to be a step up, the physicality and intensity of games, but I’ve enjoyed it,” he said.

“It’s a new challenge at Leicester, standards are very high and that’s led a lot by the players.

“They’ve got a lot of good leaders and experience there, and that’s brought more of a voice out of me.”

Wainwright said adapting to Leicester’s expectations had required an immediate response.

“In the first few days I didn’t know my role straight away and someone was getting stuck into me.

“I thought ‘I need to make sure I’m really on it here’ – that’s the level they’re at.”

England-based players

His experience comes as Wales head coach Steve Tandy named a record nine England-based players in his starting side for the Nations Championship fixture.

Wainwright joins Gloucester trio Dewi Lake, Jac Morgan and Max Llewellyn, Bristol’s Louis Rees-Zammit, Saracens scrum-half Tomos Williams, Sale prop Nicky Smith, Bath’s Archie Griffin and Exeter’s Dafydd Jenkins.

Three more Gallagher Prem players are on the bench. By comparison, only six England-based players were included in Wales’ entire 33-man squad at the 2023 World Cup.

Tandy said selection would be determined by performance rather than where players earned their living.

“Ultimately it doesn’t matter where they play, it’ll be the best players selected,” he said.

“It shows that our players are in demand and that other leagues value them.

“What’s encouraging is that many of them are performing really well in those environments.”

He acknowledged that having players outside Wales brought challenges, including their availability before international matches.

The England-based contingent left Wales’ training camp midway through last week to prepare for club fixtures before returning after the weekend.

“But they are coming back with different experiences, things they’ve learned and plenty of motivation to represent Wales,” Tandy said.

Delivering on the pitch

Wales resume their Nations Championship campaign after a four-month break, sitting fifth in the northern hemisphere standings.

Japan are followed by New Zealand and Australia over the next fortnight, with the World Cup in Australia less than a year away.

Tandy’s first year brought three wins from 12 matches, although narrow Six Nations defeats to Scotland and Ireland, alongside victories over Italy and Fiji, offered signs of progress.

Wainwright, who has been playing at blindside flanker for Leicester, returns to his preferred number eight role determined to turn Wales’ preparations into a performance.

“We’ve had a couple of campaigns together now and I don’t think we performed as well as we should have in the last two games of the summer,” he said.

“We’ve spoken a lot about being on this journey and we can put that into action.

“Give the fans something they can see on the pitch that reflects the words that we’re saying. That’s what we have to deliver on Saturday.”