Cardiff bolster second row with Leicester lock Tom Manz on season-long loan
Cardiff Rugby have signed Leicester Tigers lock Tom Manz on a season-long loan for the 2026-27 campaign, adding a 6ft 8in presence to their engine room for the United Rugby Championship (BBC Sport).
The URC is the cross-border league featuring professional clubs from Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and South Africa. For Cardiff, a stronger pack means more competitive set-pieces — the scrums and lineouts where games are often won or lost.
Manz, 24, made 10 appearances for Leicester last season and debuted for the Tigers in 2022. Leicester retained him with a renewed contract as recently as March 2026 (BBC Sport), making this loan a chance for the young lock to get regular minutes rather than a sign of a fall-out.
A lock, for those newer to the game, is the second-row forward who provides height at the lineout (the throw-in restart) and power in the scrum. At 6ft 8in, Manz fits that job description neatly.
Cardiff head coach Corniel van Zyl described Manz as a "big, physical player" who will strengthen the squad (BBC Sport). Van Zyl's side have been busy in the second-row market this summer, having already signed Tongan lock Semisi Paea after missing out on Wales international Christ Tshiunza, who joined Sale Sharks.
For Cardiff fans, the appeal is straightforward. A forward pack that can hold its own at the set-piece gives the backs — the faster, lighter players out wide — a platform to attack from. Manz's height alone should make him a useful target at lineout time, both on Cardiff's own throw and when disrupting the opposition's.
For Manz, a full season of URC rugby offers the kind of weekly involvement hard to guarantee at a stacked Leicester side. He returns to the Tigers afterwards with, Cardiff will hope, a tougher edge.
