Tess Feury: "People want to see us play"

Leicester Tigers’ Tess Feury believes SuperPWR weekend will be the perfect spectacle to keep building the hype around women’s rugby, writes Ayisha Gulati

SuperPWR weekend, taking place across March 2-3, will see all four Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby matches broadcast live and all games played in main stadia.

In a PWR first, Tigers are set to take on Saracens at StoneX Stadium in a match that will be live-streamed on TikTok Sports and YouTube, opening the league up to audiences across the globe, including Feury's family in New Jersey, USA.

“To have all the games streamed on some sort of viewing platform is huge,” said Feury.

“Having access to watch our games is what’s really going to grow the sport. People want to see us play.

“Leicester Tigers are such an exciting team to follow, from the beginning of the season to now. If people worldwide had the opportunity to watch that from start to finish, there would be even more hype built.

“It’s exciting to put on an entire weekend dedicated to women’s rugby.

𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗣𝗪𝗥 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲 🎟️

Just 18 days until a HUGE weekend of Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby gets underway 🔥

Click the link below to secure your spot at SuperPWR Weekend 👇#PWR | @allianzuknews

— Premiership Women's Rugby (@ThePWR) February 13, 2024

“Across other sports, you have weekends people talk about and book out in their calendars months ahead. If this can become an established weekend going forward, it can really create an exciting platform.

“Not being from here, my family can’t always watch my games in person or on TV so it’s exciting that viewers worldwide will be able to take a peek into the PWR and really see what it’s all about.

“Leading up to the 2025 World Cup, the more access we can have to games worldwide, the better.”

Tigers are in the midst of their inaugural PWR campaign, with recent victories over Sale Sharks and Loughborough Lightning a testament to the rapid progress they have made since November.

Feury added: “At the beginning of the season, our coaches played out on paper what they thought Leicester Tigers would be, but we didn’t fit the perfect mould.

“As the season has developed, we've really started to establish our DNA, see the characteristics of the players and adapt really well on the field.

“Now we’re at a point where we’re playing teams for a second time, so we can really see the progress we’ve made from the beginning of the season to now.

“As an unestablished team, it’s really exciting to build a name for ourselves in this league both on field and off field.

“Being able to come into a new team and help build the culture is so unique, and I saw it as an exciting opportunity and challenge.”

Having started playing rugby aged four, Feury found the decision to join Tigers an easy one.

“I knew I wanted to play in the PWR,” she added. “It’s the best, most elite competition in the world.

𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
Check out all the clips from our victory against Loughborough Lightning! 🐯 https://t.co/4lwW6OTSfy pic.twitter.com/MDkKTlIqm1

— Leicester Tigers Women's (@TigersWomens) February 13, 2024

“Growing up watching the men’s Premiership, I knew Leicester Tigers as a very big force in rugby worldwide.

“To see the community support and play in a big stadium with fans around town who know who you are is really exciting - that’s something I've never experienced as a women’s rugby player.”

And with SuperPWR weekend set to celebrate the superpowers of the players on show, Feury earmarked her reliability, on and off the pitch, as her specialist attribute.

“It’s not a big ‘x-factor’ superpower but as a full back, I’m the last line of defence, so you have to rely on me to make that final tackle,” she said.

“Off the field, I pride myself on being a really reliable teammate. If anyone asks me for something, I'm going to get it done and I take a lot of pride in being the one to offer my teammates help.”