Departing Wales prop Nicky Smith backs Leicester to challenge for silverware for years

Wales loosehead prop Nicky Smith has backed Leicester Tigers to remain Premiership title contenders for years to come, even as he prepares to leave the club for Sale Sharks next season on a three-year deal.

The timing of Smith’s exit has done little to ease the difficulty of the decision. When his move to Sale was announced in mid-December, the two clubs were on broadly similar trajectories. Since then, Leicester have won eight of their 11 league matches and reached the Premiership semi-finals, while Sale have won just two of theirs over the same stretch.

“It was a very, very tough decision. I’ve got to be brutally honest about that,” said the 32-year-old. “The length of contract was a big one for me. I think to have sustainability knowing the age that I am — that was more important.”

Family considerations were central to Smith’s thinking. With three young children based in Wales, the prop was clear that a longer, more secure contract outweighed the appeal of staying at a club now pushing for the title.

“My family live in Wales so I have to make the right decision for them and make sure that I know it was a stable income coming in for as long as possible, really. That’s what Sale offered and it was very difficult to turn that down,” he said. “I actually love playing with this club — the boys, the staff, everyone — so it was nothing sore in that sense but it was just an opportunity that I just couldn’t turn down.”

What appeared to be a transitional season for Leicester under new head coach Geoff Parling — following the exits of Julian Montoya and Handre Pollard, and the retirements of Dan Cole and Ben Youngs — has instead become a genuine title challenge. Smith, for his part, is not surprised.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Tigers are in this position for years to come,” he said.

He was also measured in his assessment of Sale’s difficult campaign, pointing to the physical qualities he still sees in the squad. “There’s a lot of boys coming in and even though they haven’t been on the right side of the results, we played them a few weeks ago and there’s still that physical presence to them, so I’m sure they’ll have a better year next year.”

Sale’s incoming signings — including Courtney Lawes, Joe Marchant, Tomas Francis and Alex Lozowski alongside Smith himself — suggest the Sharks are investing heavily in a rebuild.

For Smith, the move to the north-west will mean longer drives home to Wales, but he is firm that his family will not be relocating. “As soon as I’m done here I’ll be off down the M4 back home to see the kids before bed but taking them out of school for the selfish reasons of rugby is not fair on them,” he said.