Snubbed by Wales this summer, Cracknell channels his frustration into Leicester's new season

Olly Cracknell says being left out of Wales’ summer tour has lit a fire under him ahead of Leicester’s new United Rugby Championship campaign, with the 32-year-old flanker determined to force his way back into Steve Tandy’s plans.

Cracknell was part of Wales’ initial squad earlier in the year and earned caps during the Six Nations, but was omitted when Tandy named his touring party for the summer trips to Argentina and South Africa. Back-row colleagues Aaron Wainwright and Tommy Reffell, both set to feature alongside him in Sunday’s home fixture against Saracens, added to their international tallies while Cracknell watched from afar.

“I was part of the initial squad but then I wasn’t selected for the tour, so that was obviously disappointing,” said Cracknell, who has made 87 appearances for Leicester since joining in 2022. “It gives me a bit of a chip on my shoulder for this year, a bit of fire inside me to work and try and get back in that squad.”

The five-times capped back-row was candid about his own form playing a role in the setback. “If I am honest my performances at the back-end of last season here fell off a little bit, so I just want to get back to my best. That’s how I got into the squad, by playing my best rugby. You’re always trying to find that form, and that’s what I have got to do to get back in.”

Rather than dwelling on the disappointment, Cracknell spent the summer pursuing a long-held ambition off the pitch — tracking down and buying a 1985 Mercedes W123, a classic he had been eyeing for a decade. The search took him from a specialist dealer in Swansea to a viewing on the Isle of Wight, where a sunset test drive on a military road sealed the deal.

“I love that car because it is known as one of the most durable cars of all time,” he said. “When it was designed, the mechanics were given a blank cheque for each part because they wanted a car that would last. I could talk about it all day.”

Cracknell also revealed he keeps a marked-up A-Z road map of the best driving routes in the country — a hobby that, much like his rugby, appears to be driven by a desire to find and hold the perfect line.