It has been over 150 days since Leicester Tigers last saw Premiership action, with their heart-breaking Semi-Final defeat away at Sale Sharks back in May. Since then, it has been all-change in the East Midlands, as new Head Coach Dan McKellar took charge with a new coaching set up to lead the club forwards. After several weeks of Premiership Cup action, Tigers travel to Bristol to take on the Bears in the season’s curtain-raiser, in what should be a tasty encounter. Ahead of that trip, how have the last few weeks been for the club?
Brand New Leicester?
Ever since Australian McKellar was announced as joining the club, questions have been asked as to how he will approach leading up the Tigers. Will there be much change, and if so, by how much? Well on the evidence of the last few weeks, both on the field, and in the interviews conducted with the man himself, there is both a freshness about Leicester and a reassuringly familiar feel about them.
McKellar has brought with him a clarity about the way he wants his team to play, and from the outset has maintained that Leicester will be offering more in attack compared to previous seasons. Evolution not revolution has been the cry, and that has been evident from the off. The pace Leicester look to play with, is faster than previous years, with new scrum-half Joe Powell a key cog in that strategy. His speed of delivery is very fast, ensuring the opposition defence has very little time to set. He cannot do it alone, and Tigers’ forwards have been crucial to making this happen – getting off the floor and round the corner quickly, ensuring that Powell can get the ball away at pace, keeping the tempo going.
In the backs, there is a noticeable freedom being expressed. Leicester are much happier to get the ball wide earlier than in previous years, and they are much more comfortable in holding onto the ball than before. New wingers Ollie Hassell-Collins and Josh Bassett have both bagged tries over the last few weeks, with “OHC” looking sensational each time he gets the ball. The midfield of Atkinson, Kelly and Porter have been pivotal in the new way of thinking, as has Phil Cokanasiga. Taking the ball to the line and testing the defence, combined with accurate and slick passing has ensured Leicester have opened up teams regularly. Even in these early stages of the McKellar era, they look a more potent team than before.
Same Old Leicester?
It is worth remembering that McKellar was appointed mainly because he offered the most important characteristic to Tigers – continuity. With that in mind, the last few weeks have demonstrated that. The man from Down Under came with a strong reputation for good forward play and so far Leicester have fully shown this in abundance. Their set-piece is strong – their last home outing against Newcastle memorably showcasing this with multiple tries scored from a rolling maul off a line out, and a devastatingly dominant scrum that took the Falcons apart. In addition, the forwards have punched holes with pleasing regularity whilst carrying, with tip on passes helping to generate momentum and go-forward. So far, so good for Leicester.
Not only that, Leicester’s defence has remained as miserly as ever. Whilst appreciating the standard of the teams played has not always been as strong as preferred, Tigers have only conceded three tries to Premiership opposition in Sale and Newcastle and were equally as stingy against Caldy, Ampthill and the first half in the pre-season game against Nottingham. Whilst Bedford last weekend was a different story, that was with a vastly inexperienced side compared to their opposition. Overall their defence looks as tight as previous season’s and in no mood to give their opposition an inch.
Equally, whilst there is less kicking than last year, the kicking is accurate and, most importantly, the chase is disciplined and powerful. For all the talk of new tunes, Leicester look very capable of playing the old favourites equally as well.
Premiership Cup Fever?
A World Cup year usually means that the Premiership Cup is the preamble to the league season, and this year has been no different. Leicester played one pre-season friendly against Nottingham, before five pool games including Premiership sides Sale Sharks and Newcastle Falcons, and Championship opposition in Caldy, Ampthill and Bedford. Of these six games prior to Bristol, Tigers have come away with 5 victories and a single loss away at Bedford last weekend.
The victories themselves have been pleasing, but Leicester have performed impressively in how they want to play. As mentioned above, they have been very good at showcasing their new ideas, as well as the fundamentals of their game, built upon the hard work of previous years. As a result, they enter into the new season confident from the positive results and the manner in which they have earned them. This all means that Tigers have a chance of silverware next February, as they are in the semi-finals of the Premiership Cup. Whilst the competition has lost the shine of years gone by, there is a trophy to be won and winning silverware is a healthy habit to get into. It is likely that McKellar will be keen to get his leadership going with a Cup win, in the new year.
Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail
All of the last few weeks has been about one thing – preparing the side for the Premiership and Champions Cup – a competition in which they have been drawn in the “Group of Death”. There is an argument that Tigers have not been tested enough – Caldy and Ampthill are spirited outfits but part-time. Sale put out a mixed strength side whilst Falcons finished bottom of the Premiership last season. There is a concern from some supporters, that whilst Leicester have won and won well, the side may go to Bristol not knowing where their true levels are currently.
Whilst that is a valid concern, Tigers go into the new season as prepared as they can be. Leicester can control many things, however they cannot legislate for the strength of the opposition on the day nor the side that is selected to play them. All they can do is control the elements that they do have influence on and act accordingly.
With that in mind, they have performed well. Against the primary objectives of getting match fitness into the squad, taking new ideas from the training field into game scenarios, testing out combinations and getting rustiness out of the system, then that has been achieved. The whole squad has been utilised across the games, with nearly every senior player getting at least two games to showcase what they can do – the exceptions being those coming back from injury. This has allowed them to meet the rest of those primary objectives with the new signings settling in well and looking at home already.
Further Targets
Leicester have also utilised the more “senior” Development Squad Members such as Emeka Illione, Lewis Chessum and Finn Carnduff amongst others, and given them gametime amongst the regular first team players. Those young players have stood up well so far, and have impressed at a more senior level. As a result, Leicester have been able to strengthen their depth options for the year ahead. Tigers go into the season with a strength in depth not seen for at least a decade if not further.
This work has allowed Tigers to target their secondary and further objectives for the last few weeks. The coaching team no doubt will have further targets they will be working on than listed here, but the Premiership Cup has allowed Leicester to have their defence tested and making sure the systems are working, which they are, albeit with some tidying up to be done. The attack has become more cohesive with each week, with errors reducing across each game. The set-piece has been given a time to shine and has been polished into a serious weapon as the Newcastle game demonstrated. Finally the discipline which was very poor in the opening friendly with Nottingham, has been vastly improved, to be as good as previous seasons.
How do we look?
All of this does not guarantee a win against Bristol or a good season ahead; supporters will all remember years where football or rugby teams have had storming pre-seasons and then did nothing in the league, with the opposite also true. However what Tigers have done is given themselves the best chance of success. They have tested their new ideas, got rustiness out of the system and improved their options at selection time.
Ahead of their first game, they can do no more, however Leicester can be satisfied with their work over the last few weeks. Attentions now turn to Ashton Gate, where the first real test of the McKellar era will be seen.