Warriors have been inundated with ticket requests ahead of the massive league clash and now all seats have been sold by the Warriors Box Office.

A capacity crowd of 12,024 is guaranteed for a mouth-watering top-flight clash, the first sell-out crowd of the season at the home of the Warriors.

Club officials have confirmed that the sell-out is one of the earliest ever announced by the club, with just under four weeks until the game.

The last 50 hospitality places are now available for groups and individuals, starting from £75 per person. Please contact the Sales Team on 01905 459354 for more information.

The Warriors Box Office are continuing to sell match tickets at pace for other forthcoming fixtures, including the Amlin Challenge Cup fixture against Bucharest Wolves on December 17 and local derby in the Aviva Premiership against Gloucester Rugby on January 7.

Jebb Sinclair will start his first game for London Irish at number 8 and Alex Corbisiero and Sailosi Tagicakibau will start their first games of the season at prop and on the wing respectively. Ross Samson will start at scrum half alongside Dan Bowden who captains the side, James Sandford will partner Bryn Evans in the second row and Steve Shingler will play alongside Shontayne Hape at outside centre.

London Irish head coach Toby Booth said:"We’ve been competitive at Leicester under my tenure, but have never won. It’s a very tough place to go. We’re up for it as there is another Premiership four points up for offer.”

London Irish team to Leicester Tigers:

15. Tom Homer; 14.Topsy Ojo*; 13. Steven Shingler; 12.Shontayne Hape*; 11.Sailosi Tagicakibau*; 10. Dan Bowden (Captain); 9. Ross Samson; 1.Alex Corbisiero*; 2. David Paice*; 3.Paulica Ion*; 4. James Sandford; 5. Bryn Evans*; 6. Declan Danaher; 7.Jamie Gibson; 8. Jebb Sinclair*

Replacements: 16. James Buckland; 17. Max Lahiff; 18.Faan Rautenbach*; 19. Matt Garvey; 20. Richard Thorpe; 21. Adam Thompstone; 22. Adrian Jarvis; 23.Darren Allinson

Head Coach: Toby Booth;  Attack Coach: Mike Catt;  Defence Coach: Justin Bishop

*Denotes International

Lewsey was part of a hugely successful era at London Wasps spending over ten years with the club, winning four Premiership titles, two Heineken Cups, a European Challenge Cup and two domestic Cup titles. With a number of those titles being won after final day victories over Leicester, Lewsey says the respect between the two clubs will always linger.

“For a while Wasps and Leicester were the two of the most dominant and successful clubs in the professional era. When I was playing, there was a mutual respect between the players but a brutal, cultural and tribal rivalry. It was a bit like playing your brother in your back garden.”

His best memories of the many clashes between the two side are the Heineken Cup Final in 2007 and the Premiership Final in 2008.

“Playing in any final against them was special but I would have to say that those finals were highlights. It was a feeling that you’d literally be willing to die for the man either side of you and they’d do likewise for you. That element of togetherness and loyalty is what all champion teams are made of.”

Down through the years, Lewsey too recalls some rather less happy memories.

“Getting humiliated by 50 points at Welford Road only a couple of weeks before the grand final is one, especially knowing that on the day some of the players weren’t willing or indeed didn’t believe we could win.”

Down through the years in this fixture he has played against some quality players and finds it hard to pick the stand-out man.

“I respect their club immensely and though it is culturally different from Wasps, they have in my mind done a great job over the years keeping it both a great rugby club and holding on to their unique culture with the youngsters learning the work ethic and having to earn respect by demonstrating the right values before they become stars.”

“I couldn’t pick out one individual from over the years but there a lot of guys who have epitomised those values without explicitly courting the limelight. Players like Darren Garforth, Graham Rowntree, Ben Kay, Lewis Moody, Geordan Murphy plus the others such as Neil Back, Martin Johnson all come to mind.”

Newcastle booked their place in the finals of the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s Series with a convincing display at Edgeley Park on Friday.

Falcons won three out of three to cruise into next Friday’s final at the Stoop where they will be looking to go one better than their runner’s up spot to Saracens last year.

And they will be joined by hosts Sale who booked their place with a win over Worcester in the final match of the evening.

It was the Sharks who made the brightest start to the evening opening the scoring through centre Will Addison to take a 7-0 lead over Newcastle at half-time.

That was as close as anyone came to troubling Falcons and they came roaring back after the break with three tries, Joel Hodgson scoring the first and setting Ryan Shortland up for the second before Luke Fielden sealed the 15-7 win.

A very inexperienced Leicester side was then dispatched by Worcester 19-10, Danny Gray proving the difference with two tries and two conversions while James Freeman grabbed the Warriors’ other try.

Centre Ed Rolston scored two tries for Tigers but it was not enough to avoid defeat.

Leicester were immediately back in action and clearly unable to cope with back-to-back games as the Sharks tore them to shreds 47-0.

Player of the round Danny Bibby scored a hat-trick while Jordan Davies, Will Cliff, Addison and Tom Brady also helped themselves to tries.

Newcastle then booked their place in the finals with a comfortable 19-10 over Worcester, Hodgson again scoring from an offload from Luke Eves.

Fielden again got on the scoresheet, along with Mark Wilson to put Newcastle clear before a Sam Miller double gave the score some respectability.

Falcons were able to overcome the challenge of back-to-back games in their following clash with Leicester, crushing the Tigers 41-7 after conceding early.

Tahir El Mahdi pounced to give Tigers the early lead but two tries from Chris Pilgrim, as well as scores from Wilson, Richard Mayhew, Alex Tait, Will Chudley and Aaron Myers, were enough for a convincing win.

That set up a winner-takes-all clash in the final match between hosts Sale and Worcester, and the Sharks gave the visitors no chance as they coasted to 45-12 win.

Tickets for every round of the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s Series are available through Ticketmaster /www.ticketmaster.co.uk http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk /or by calling 0844 847 2492

A youthful Tigers team will travel to Edgeley Park to play Newcastle Falcons, Worcester Warriors and hosts Sale Sharks.
Alex Lewington, the 19-year-old Academy wing and full-back, will captain the squad.

Wing Lee Robinson, who scored 45 tries in just over 100 appearances for Bristol Rugby and made his Tigers debut in the Aviva Premiership fixture away to Saracens last season, provides senior experience.

Tigers also include lock Rob Conquest, centre Ed Rolston and back-rower Jethro Rawling, who all played their part in the success of the Development XV in securing last season’s Aviva Premiership A League title.

Academy manager Neil McCarthy said: “The JP Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby Sevens gives our young players exposure in a really good competition.

“This year in particular, because there are senior players away at the World Cup, it gives some of the younger players an opportunity to show their worth.”

Lewington, who made two first-team appearances in last season’s LV= Cup, said the chance to wear the Tigers colours was a huge incentive in itself.

“It’s awesome to wear a Tigers shirt,” he said. “It’s always a special feeling every time you put one on and you cannot take it for granted. You want to treasure it.”

Leicester Tigers (JP Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby Sevens, Friday, July 29, Edgeley Park, kick-off 7.30pm)

1 Jake Albon, back row
2 Rob Conquest, second row
3 Harry Wells, second row/back row, England Under-16A
4 Ed Rolston, centre
5 Jethro Rawling, back row, England Under-19
6 Lee Robinson, wing, Barbarians
7 John Hale, centre
8 Alex Lewington, wing/full back, England Under-18
9 Tahir El Mahdi, wing, England Under-16A
10 Javiah Pohe, centre, England Under-18
11 Tom Bowen, full-back
12 Scott Steele, scrum-half

Tait, 25, has played more than 150 first-team games in eight seasons in club rugby, starting at Newcastle Falcons and then moving to Sale Sharks.

Capped 38 times by England, Tait has played at wing and full-back as well as at centre, and is now looking to make an impact at Welford Road.

Leicester Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill said: “We think Mathew is an excellent addition to the squad.

“He has gained a lot of experience for a player who is still just 25 years old and he has played at the highest level, including the World Cup Final in 2007.

“But he is still young, he is still ambitious and he wants to challenge himself here.”

County Durham-born Tait made his senior debut for Newcastle Falcons in 2004 and gained his first England cap as an 18-year-old during the 2005 Six Nations.

He moved to Sale Sharks in 2008 and gained his most recent England cap in Australia last summer.

Tait said: “The move to Leicester Tigers gives me a great opportunity to continue my development as a player and I know there is still a lot to come in my career.

“I’ve enjoyed some great times in the game already and I still have ambitions and goals to achieve in rugby.

“There is a superb set-up at Leicester and a very competitive squad. I’m looking forward to trying to establish myself in the team here.”

The nine-times Premiership champions have agreed terms with Kieran Brookes, Graham Kitchener and Micky Young who are all currently with the England Saxons squad at the Churchill Cup.

Brookes, a prop, and scrum-half Young will move from Newcastle Falcons, while second-rower Kitchener was part of the Worcester Warriors squad which gained promotion to the Aviva Premiership in the 2010/11 season.

Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill said: “We’re delighted to be able to add such promising young talent to our squad. We hope they all enjoy a successful Churchill Cup this summer and we look forward to them joining us in time for the build-up to the new season.

“We’ve brought a number of young players through to our first-team squad in the last couple of seasons and we think these three have the potential to develop well within our environment.

“It is important for this club to retain a strong, young English core to the squad and we have an excellent record in that regard.”

Brookes, 20, has played almost 40 first-team games in two years with Newcastle Falcons, while 22-year-old Young has made 79 senior appearances since his debut in 2007/08.

Kitchener, 21, was among the try-scorers in the England Saxons win over the USA last Saturday and made 32 appearances in Worcester’s Championship-winning season.

Markham played his junior rugby with Rainford High School, Ormskirk RFC and Sedbergh School before joining the Sale Sharks Academy. He was also capped by Lancashire at U14, U15 and U16 levels.

Having moved to the Tigers, he made his senior debut for as a replacement in the LV= Cup fixture at Exeter in January 2011 and was an Aviva Premiership A League winner with the Tigers in 2011, starting the final against Sale Jets.

Talking to the club website this week, Markham admitted that he’s really looking forward to reporting for preseason training and getting a good preseason under his belt.

“Gloucester is a great club in a great rugby community and it’s a chance for me to explore the game more and test myself against some of the best players in the country.”

“It’s about developing myself as a person and as a player. Gloucester have shown in the past that they’re not afraid to give young players a chance and hopefully I’ll get some game time as the season goes on.”

“I’m really looking forward to meeting the rest of the squad and putting in the hard work in training. But especially working with guys like Alex Brown, Jim Hamilton and Will James and learning from them, developing my game and making the most of any opportunities that come my way.”

Nick Evans, who has been sidelined since the away game against Exeter Chiefs, returns to the number 10 Quins shirt. Rory Clegg, who has been outstanding at fly-half in Evans’ absence, starts on the bench.

There is one final change to the side that defeated Gloucester last week; Matt Cairns replaces Chris Brooker on the bench.

Joe Marler and John Andress link either side of last week’s try scorer Joe Gray in the front row, with Ollie Kohn partnering the pack’s other try scorer George Robson. Maurie Fa’asavalu, Captain Chris Robshaw and Nick Easter make up the back row.

Danny Care and Nick Evans will look to re-ignite their scintillating 9-10 partnership, with Jordan Turner-Hall and try scorer George Lowe starting in the centre. Hat-trick man Ugo Monye and Gonzalo Camacho retain their positions on the wings, with Mike Brown at full-back.

Harlequins team to play Leicester Tigers. Saturday 2nd April. Kick off 5.30pm. Aviva Premiership Rugby. The Stoop.

15 MIKE BROWN

14 GONZALO CAMACHO

13 GEORGE LOWE

12 JORDAN TURNER-HALL

11 UGO MONYE

10 NICK EVANS

9 DANNY CARE

1 JOE MARLER

2 JOE GRAY

3 JOHN ANDRESS

4 OLLIE KOHN

5 GEORGE ROBSON

6 MAURIE FA’ASAVALU

7 CHRIS ROBSHAW ©

8 NICK EASTER

THE BENCH

16 MATT CAIRNS “FR”

17 CERI JONES “FR”

18 MARK LAMBERT “FR”

19 TOMAS VALLEJOS

20 WILL SKINNER

21 DAVE MOORE

22 RORY CLEGG

23 TOM WILLIAMS

The England international has not started a game since scoring a hat-trick of tries in the Heineken Cup win over Benetton Treviso at the end of January.

Crane is named in the No8 shirt, with Thomas Waldrom named among the replacements.

The backline involved in the win over Bath Rugby last weekend is retained for the trip to the Twickenham Stoop.

Martin Castrogiovanni and George Skivington return to the matchday squad after missing the trip to Bath.

Leicester Tigers (v Harlequins, away, Saturday 5.30pm)
15 Scott Hamilton
14 Horacio Agulla
13 Manu Tuilagi
12 Anthony Allen
11 Alesana Tuilagi
10 Toby Flood
9 Ben Youngs
1 Marcos Ayerza
2 George Chuter
3 Dan Cole
4 Steve Mafi
5 Ed Slater
6 Tom Croft
7 Craig Newby (c)
8 Jordan Crane

Replacements
16 Rob Hawkins
17 Boris Stankovich
18 Martin Castrogiovanni
19 George Skivington
20 Thomas Waldrom
21 James Grindal
22 Jeremy Staunton
23 Matt Smith