After the departures of Steve Borthwick and Kevin Sinfield, Leicester Tigers are a month into their new era under Interim Head Coach Richard Wigglesworth. In that time, they have played four matches, and have already had fresh challenges to deal with. As the club moves into its second month under the most decorated Premiership player in history, it is a good time to take stock of how things are going.
Results
So far in the first month in charge, Wigglesworth and Leicester have played four matches, with only one at home. Three have been in the league and one in Europe. So far, Tigers have a 50% win record under their new man, with two victories recorded. The wins have come via an impressive outing at home to Gloucester in Wigglesworth’s debut match as Head Coach, where Leicester produced a dominant performance in the second half to nullify tough opponents, becoming the first winners of the Slater Cup in the process. Their second victory came in even more impressive circumstances, away in France over Clermont Auvergne. Winning 44-29, with a performance that was deeply impressive and led by the young guns in the squad.
However, whilst the wins have been impressive, the losses have been equally as disappointing. Two trips on the road to firstly Sale then Newcastle not only saw two sizeable losses, 40-5 and 45-26 respectively, but also two extremely sub-par performances. Whilst defeat to Sale could be mitigated, it was hard to find anything to explain what happened against the Falcons. Indeed, that loss at Newcastle even saw Club Captain Hanro Liebenberg question the effort of some players in his post-match interview. A statement that would have been considered unthinkable under the previous regime.
Troubling Performances and Tough Challenges
It was not just the results that were disappointing in those two games. What worried fans were all the previous hallmarks of what had took Leicester to the top, had seemingly disappeared, to be replaced by so many of the bad habits that had taken the club to consecutive 11th placed Premiership finishes. A lack of aggression, weak in defence and when under pressure, consistently inaccurate across all facets of their game and a very poor attacking structure combined to make the consecutive trips up North miserable for the Tigers.
What is most disappointing from those trips is the reoccurrence of those bad habits. Even in Leicester’s first season under Borthwick, they had gone into every game willing to fight and compete and stand up to pressure coming onto them. To see that evaporate so quickly was worrying, and was a reminder to Wigglesworth that one of his jobs is to ensure that standards are kept high throughout the club to ensure no drop off now Borthwick and Sinfield have left.
The defence is an area that Wigglesworth will also be keeping an eye on. Leicester are a team that gets its energy from a strong defensive effort. Again he will need to ensure that this does not drop in standard now that Sinfield is no longer involved. Whilst the defence performed well in the win over Gloucester, it has been tested in the other three game and too often, failed. Whilst the win at Clermont was very impressive, it also saw Leicester concede a try-scoring bonus point in the process. Now Clermont did produce some fabulous attacking movement and shape that would have tested nearly every team; but Tigers will still be concerned that they did not make life harder for their opponents through their own work. They will be desperate to return to their previous, ungenerous, defensive best as soon as possible.
The Champions have also seen their lives tested by an injury list that seems to get ever longer with each game. One of the mitigations for the defeat up at Sale were those injuries to key players – in the second half, hooker Gabriel Oghre was playing in the centre, with Scrum Half Jack van Poortvliert playing at Fly-Half. Whilst it does not excuse the entire 80 minutes, it does provide an explanation as to why Tigers deeply struggled. The injury list is now up to roughly thirteen players out, including front line stars of Jasper Wiese, Julian Montoya and Guy Porter. Any coach would struggle to cope with those issues, especially one that is still so new into the role.
Positive Signals
The start to the Wigglesworth era has thrown up its challenges. However there have been signs that point to how the next few months could be positive for the club. The return of Handre Pollard into the 10 shirt has been extremely pleasing. To have gone over half the season without their marquee signing has been tough for Leicester and has been a contributing factor to their form being less consistent than last season. The win in Clermont saw plenty of positives from Pollard – his kicking from hand was strong, finding deep touch-finders when kicking to the corner. His kicking from the tee was equally as impressive, with a couple of penalties from far out helping Leicester to build a score. This will put pressure on future opponents, as they will know they cannot concede penalties in their own half as Pollard can punish them in multiple fashion.
A feature of their wins over both Gloucester and Clermont has been their strong work through their backline. This has been an area that has lagged behind the other facets of Tigers’ game, which is a shame given the talent Leicester possess in their three-quarters. However in both victories, Leicester have been more willing to use their backs and has seen them have success from doing so. The excellent move that put in Matt Scott for his second in France was delightful and a move that would have cut any defence to shreds. Leicester have looked a much better team this season when they have played with more ambition and looked to play wide, this is something they need to maintain and build upon to hurt opponents.
In addition, it cannot be any coincidence that Leicester’s tempo and aggression in those two wins were top drawer. Led by the forwards, their intensity were big features of what took Leicester to victory. Playing at a quicker tempo with a dynamism in the forwards, allowed Tigers to test their opponents in both games, with neither being able to cope. For Wigglesworth, ensuring Leicester play at a decent pace should be encouraged as it reflected their strengths perfectly.
Whilst injuries are less than ideal, it has presented opportunities to members of the squad who had not seen as much game time. The likes of Sean Jansen, Cameron Henderson and Harry Simmons have come into the side and have looked very impressive in the process. Henderson was so impressive and has now earned a call up to Scotland 6 Nations squad. Simmons’ try in Clermont was as delightful as Matt Scott’s second, showing the world what he can do with ball in hand. Simmons was a promising player in the scrum-half position before moving to wing. Not only are his fundamentals strong, his footwork in scoring the try was also deeply impressive. With injuries presenting his chance, he will be desperate to show more to keep the shirt moving forward.
Challenges Ahead
Things do not get easier in the short-term for Wigglesworth, with the 6 Nations approaching. He now knows he loses nine players to call-ups, with the possibility of more to follow. That combined with the injuries does make his life a lot harder and will see his squad tested even further. However with the injured players close to returning, he should be able to add options back in.
Having home fixtures to look forward to will also be a help. Tigers have played so many away games that any assessment of the season and of Wigglesworth’s tenure does need to have that mentioned. Indeed, three of his four fixtures have been away from home. With so many of the remaining fixtures being at Welford Road, having the boost of a home crowd should help build momentum.
Assessing the Wigglesworth era does need to acknowledge that Tigers are in unparalleled waters by losing the heart of their coaching team halfway through a season, through no fault of their own. Wigglesworth has been thrown into an extremely tough situation and is having to learn the ropes on the job, made even harder by the mounting injuries to important players. It is therefore to be expected that results may suffer therefore, and some slack can be cut accordingly when looking at the negatives. What is less forgivable has been the manner of those losses, Tigers will need to ensure that there is no repeat as the season progresses.
The wins achieved have been very pleasing and point towards how Leicester can gain success this season. Moving forward, Wigglesworth should not look to emulate the Borthwick era in its entirety, however look to build on solid foundations with his own ideas. Taking the lessons from the victories achieved so far should allow Leicester to complement their strengths and put them in a healthy position to have a strong season.