Whatever happens next in the Leicester Tigers hot-seat, it is worth noting the combination currently at the helm and wondering if there is a more 'homegrown' coaching team anywhere in top-flight rugby.
Since Scott Hansen left earlier in the season, the coaching team has comprised completely of former Tigers players.
When Richard Cockerill, that most Leicester of Leicester men, vacated the director of rugby’s chair at New Year, head coach Aaron Mauger brought in Brett Deacon to look after defence and asked Boris Stankovich to guide the scrum. Anthony Allen, who has been working alongside Deacon with the academy, has also made a contribution, mostly noticeably during the Anglo-Welsh Cup phase.
With Geordan Murphy and Richard Blaze already in situ, that is a group of six men who played nearly 800 games for the Tigers, from Blaze with 24 before his injury-enforced retirement just when he was making his way into the international reckoning, all the way through to Geordan’s 322 games ahead of his move into the backroom staff.
That is a lot of ‘Tiger’ to have behind the team. If the players need any reminders of what it means to pull on the shirt, they do not need to look far.
Some may say it points to an insularity in Leicester ranks – and Cockerill was fond of the “We are Leicester, no one likes us, we don’t care” quip – but it is not as simple as that. In a time of uncertainty about what happens next as the Board examine their options, having that kind of stability and inside knowledge should be an asset. Having a homegrown club captain like Tom Youngs with Tigers in his blood is a similar positive.
Also, the very reason Mauger came in and remains is that he brings fresh ideas to the table. He played almost as many games for the All Blacks as he did for Tigers and was part of a very successful Crusaders set-up. Since Cockerill’s departure, he’s had more on his plate than a hungry prop but will value the input from those around him.
Deacon, Allen and Blaze all played Premiership rugby for clubs other than Tigers, while Stankovich experienced top-flight rugby in three countries as well as earning himself a place among Leicester’s most popular props in the professional era. Murphy, with 70-odd Test caps with Ireland and the Lions plus 17 seasons as a Tiger, has seen just about everything the game has to offer from a number of different angles.
Is there any other club can have as much inside knowledge supplemented by experience from outside?
.
Since Scott Hansen left earlier in the season, the coaching team has comprised completely of former Tigers players.
When Richard Cockerill, that most Leicester of Leicester men, vacated the director of rugby’s chair at New Year, head coach Aaron Mauger brought in Brett Deacon to look after defence and asked Boris Stankovich to guide the scrum. Anthony Allen, who has been working alongside Deacon with the academy, has also made a contribution, mostly noticeably during the Anglo-Welsh Cup phase.
With Geordan Murphy and Richard Blaze already in situ, that is a group of six men who played nearly 800 games for the Tigers, from Blaze with 24 before his injury-enforced retirement just when he was making his way into the international reckoning, all the way through to Geordan’s 322 games ahead of his move into the backroom staff.
That is a lot of ‘Tiger’ to have behind the team. If the players need any reminders of what it means to pull on the shirt, they do not need to look far.
Some may say it points to an insularity in Leicester ranks – and Cockerill was fond of the “We are Leicester, no one likes us, we don’t care” quip – but it is not as simple as that. In a time of uncertainty about what happens next as the Board examine their options, having that kind of stability and inside knowledge should be an asset. Having a homegrown club captain like Tom Youngs with Tigers in his blood is a similar positive.
Also, the very reason Mauger came in and remains is that he brings fresh ideas to the table. He played almost as many games for the All Blacks as he did for Tigers and was part of a very successful Crusaders set-up. Since Cockerill’s departure, he’s had more on his plate than a hungry prop but will value the input from those around him.
Deacon, Allen and Blaze all played Premiership rugby for clubs other than Tigers, while Stankovich experienced top-flight rugby in three countries as well as earning himself a place among Leicester’s most popular props in the professional era. Murphy, with 70-odd Test caps with Ireland and the Lions plus 17 seasons as a Tiger, has seen just about everything the game has to offer from a number of different angles.
Is there any other club can have as much inside knowledge supplemented by experience from outside?
.
