Overview

Leicester Tigers recently announced a formal partnership with international rugby and education institution UXi Sport and have launched the UXi Leicester Tigers International Women’s Rugby Institute based at the club’s Oaks Park training ground.

This partnership will aid both organisations in the progression of women’s rugby regionally and internationally, with the South African-based UXi Sport a world leader in individual rugby development.

The UXi Rugby Institute offers a high-performance rugby development programme alongside internationally accredited academic qualifications.

UXi has six existing institutes and each has a commitment to inclusivity and rugby for all. These institutes opened their doors to women from all backgrounds and abilities to build careers in rugby union. 

This international partnership and the opening of an institution with Leicester Tigers helps increase the scope of the UXi system as well as offering a ground breaking programme that is focused on the women’s game, with a facility solely dedicated to the development of women’s rugby based out of Leicestershire.

COO of UXi Sport, Thea Miller said- "Our UXi Leicester Tigers International Women’s Rugby Institute will offer a world-class development programme, combining high-performance rugby training with internationally accredited academic qualifications.”

Leicester Tigers Chief Executive Officer Andrea Pinchen said: “The UXi Leicester Tigers International Women’s Rugby Institute will provide a multitude of opportunities to develop the tremendous untapped talent that exists in our region and builds on the hard work a lot of people have put in place in the last few years in the women’s game, here at the Club.

The Project

One of the first priorities when the partnership was announced was to develop a quality Strength and Conditioning facility for the Squad which was established in a dedicated building at the Oaks Park training ground. Perform Better were selected to design and equip the facility with their vast experience of equipping many Rugby Performance facilities most recently all the facilities for the Women's Rugby World Cup.

Two spaces were identified- one as an Olympic lifting space with Performance flooring with branded inset platforms. In a separate space a Cardio and recovery space was created with a range of cardio equipment installed plus a large stretch/warm up area giving the squad a world class facility.

The equipment installed included:

Standard Half Racks x3
Adjustable Benches x5
Olympic Bars and Discs
Dumbbell Set
Kettlebell Set
Concept 2 Ski Ergs x2
Assault Bikes x2
Concept Rowers x2
Wattbikes x2
Slam Balls
Foam Rollers
Bosus
Strength Bands
Performance Flooring
Branded Lifting Platforms
Integrated Stretch Area