Freddie Steward, George Martin and Jack van Poortvliet sign new deals with Leicester

Leicester Tigers have announce that Freddie Steward, George Martin and Jack van Poortvliet have signed new deals with the Gallagher Premiership club.

Steward a product of Leicester Academy, made his senior team debut ahead of the 2019/20 season and went on to win back-to-back titles in the Under-18 League. He started for the Tigers in the in the European Challenge Cup Final at Twickenham against Montpellier during the 2020/21 season and made 21 appearances during the victorious 2021/22 season.

He has overall made 57 appearances for the club.

“We have got incredible players and incredible coaches here, but just as much we have got incredible people who all want to work hard together to keep improving and keep being successful," he told the club's official website.

“I am excited for the opportunity we have at this club, with the people we have here, to see what we can do if we continue to work hard, together, and push one another. The sky is the limit.”

Martin made his professional rugby debut in 2019 and attended Brooksby Melton College while a member of the club’s academy programme and represented England at Under-18 age grade level. He has made 42 senior appearances for the club.

“I have grown up at Leicester Tigers, with most of these lads around me the whole time, and this club means a lot to me.”

“We have got a good group together, including a really close young group, and have come through together to where we are now and want to keep going together.

“I know - at Leicester Tigers - that I am going to be pushed by this coaching group to be the best I can be and that’s what I want, to be better everyday."

Meanwhile, van Poortvliet graduated from the Tigers Academy ahead of the 2019/20 campaign after winning back-to-back Under-18 League titles. He was selected as part of the England Under-20 squad in 2021 and named captain, leading the team to a Six Nations Grand Slam.

The 21-year-old made 27 appearances during the club’s league-winning 2021/22 campaign and capped off the season with selection in the England senior men’s squad for the tour of Australia, where he made his debut in the first Test and featured in all three matches on the tour.