Ever since Eddie Jones was dismissed by the RFU, uncertainty has hung over Leicester Tigers like a cloak. Head Coach Steve Borthwick has emerged as the favourite to replace the Australian, with an approach to the club now made. However, as things stand at the point this is written, no deal has been agreed with both parties in a state of deadlock. So what should be made of the last week and what comes next for the English Champions?
Why Borthwick is the favourite
In the two and a half years that Borthwick has been in place, he has succeeded in his remit to get Leicester competing at the top table of English rugby. His first season was a fantastic example of setting the foundations, and putting the building blocks in place as his side finished sixth in the Premiership, and reaching the final of the European Challenge Cup before losing to Montpellier. His second season was a notorious success, with Tigers winning the Premiership and becoming Champions of England again. 20 wins from 24 league games, with twelve successive victories was a remarkable feat. Winning the Premiership trophy is almost a bittersweet moment for Tigers fans – pure joy in becoming champions again, however setting the timer off towards Borthwick becoming the next England Head Coach.
As soon as the decision was made to get rid of Jones, Borthwick was easily the favourite to do so. The success at Tigers as mentioned above, was good enough to put him in the frame for starters. In addition, given the short timeframe to the World Cup, Borthwick is possibly the only man best placed to take over. He knows the players in the squad already, he will also know the 50 or so players that are in contention for making the World Cup squad given he will have seen them over the last two and a half years. Borthwick is also a man who is intense and detailed enough to make this work. A known workaholic, he will no doubt work all hours in the day to make sure his side are as prepared as possible to tackle the World Cup when it starts. As a result, given the CV, the positive player references from so many coached by him and the short turnaround, Steve really is the only realistic candidate the RFU could turn to.
The Negotiations
That the process has begun to drag has been caused by the deadlock in the negotiations. Negotiations caused by sacking Jones mid-season and having to approach Tigers to bring Borthwick in immediately. It is highly likely that a deal had been agreed for Borthwick to be announced at the end of the current season, allowing him to shadow Jones throughout the World Cup and take over upon the commencement of the competition. This would also have allowed Tigers time to speak to replacements and make an appointment themselves to take over without any disruption. Indeed there is little doubt that Leicester had already made starts on that succession plan and would have been speaking to possible coaches throughout recent months.
However the fact this has happened now means all the timings have been knocked out of shape. It also means that Leicester face enormous disruption to their season. As a result of this disruption Leicester are quite entitled to ask for sufficient compensation to mitigate the damage done, and they are quite entitled to hold out for as long as until that figure has been met. The wider question involves who of Borthwick’s current coaching staff will be going with him, and who will stay in post at both Leicester and England. The more the Leicester coaching staff required, the higher the compensation figure will be. Again, this is not unreasonable behaviour, especially given it is the mid-season and the disruption factor is so high. Lessons should be learned from Leicester City, a club who have becomes masters at getting what they want out of a negotiation. Losing a top player is tough, however the Foxes play hardball and stick to their guns until a suitable figure is reached for their player. Tigers no doubt, will be looking to emulate the same.
What is clear is that Leicester and Steve hold all the aces in this stand-off with the RFU holding the weakest hand of all. Recent reports that Tigers extended Borthwick’s contract after the final win, ensures they are in an extremely strong position. It allows them to ask for higher compensation and not be bullied into accepting a lowball amount. Borthwick holds a strong hand as he knows he is first choice, and that the RFU will be highly reluctant to lose out on bringing him on board.
In addition, the political situation at the RFU comes into play. Bill Sweeny and Connor O’Shea have come under fire themselves in their roles. Sacking Jones this close to the World Cup and failure to land their main choice would bring about an avalanche of pressure upon themselves. As a result, failure to land Borthwick is probably not an option. All parties are probably aware of this, and means Leicester will get close to what they want in losing Borthwick and any further coaches needed.
Ospreys Classic Borthwick
We are approaching the final days of Steve Borthwick being Head Coach of Leicester Tigers. One of his last games will be last weekend’s victory over Ospreys in the Champions Cup, and it was a win that almost perfectly personified what Tigers under Borthwick have become. Leicester rotated their squad and made several changes to their starting side, whilst they faced an Ospreys side that had over 650 test match caps.
Despite the mismatch, Leicester emerged victorious with a 23-17 win, getting their European campaign off to a flying start. It was a win forged on all the qualities seen under Borthwick’s tenure. Gritty, dogged, determined, an ability to box clever and ultimately find a way to win despite being put under severe pressure throughout the game. These are not features that are glitzy or stylish but they are all vitally important. Winning games of rugby is ultimately what professionalism is about and the win puts Leicester in a great position to qualify from their pool and to get the all-important home knockout games.
Borthwick’s parting gift is of a squad made in his image. One that will fight for everything, determined to not lose a game and one that is smart enough to find a solution when the pressure comes on. That this win was based upon the young, talented players that Tigers possess is even more impressive. These young men now have a lot of experience of top level rugby and are well aware of the standards needed to do well. Whomever comes in post Borthwick will be lucky enough to inherit such a strong squad, with little major changes needed.
What Comes Next?
So as this saga comes to a conclusion, attention now focuses on what comes next. This, currently, is where the main uncertainty comes in. It is almost certain that Tigers will lose Borthwick, the big question is who goes with him. Kevin Sinfield, Aled Walters and Richard Wigglesworth are the main coaches who could follow Borthwick to England. Of those, Leicester will be desperate to maintain Sinfield and Walters, especially for the rest of this season, to minimise disruption.
It is highly unlikely that Leicester will look to bring in external parties immediately unless their coaching team are truly gutted. The original plan was for a replacement to take over in the summer of 2023 and it is likely they will stick to that plan. A possible scenario would be for Sinfield to be promoted to Head Coach, if he remains at the club. If you are a proponent of the idea that the Borthwick tenure sets the standards that Tigers should aspire to coaching wise, and this author is one, then keeping that continuity through Sinfield would be the obvious choice.
Many people may see that as a safe choice, promoting from within. Given the history of Leicester taking the easy options with Geordan Murphy and Matt O’Connor then it is an understandable fear. However, given the success of Sinfield as Defence Coach and as Head Coach at Leeds Rhinos prior to be being moved upstairs, then a promotion in this instance would be a much safer bet.
Given the inexperience of Sinfield in Union, an idea may be to bring on board a more Senior Director of Rugby above Sinfield to oversee him and the other young coaches in place at Tigers. Leo Cullen would be someone that could fit that mould. With Stuart Lancaster leaving Leinster, there is an end of an era feeling starting to be generated. It is not so absurd an idea that Cullen may be tempted to come over to Leicester, a club he played at of course from 2005-2007 with distinction.
External Options?
Alternatively, Sam Vesty at local-rivals Northampton Saints would be an attractive option. Vesty is again ex-Leicester but has become one of the most prominent Attack Coaches in the country and could work wonders with all the attacking talent Leicester have at their disposal. Vesty would also understand the importance of a strong forward game at Tigers and would keep the current foundations in place. However prising him out of Saints would be a challenge given it is Leicester knocking. He also would be an inexperienced coach, so again, a more experienced Director of Rugby would be a good idea to oversee the process.
Another option under consideration would be Paul Gustard, who is currently at Stade Francais as Defence Coach. Gustard has been a success at Defence Coach wherever he has been – Saracens, England and now in France. However his one spell as Head Coach at Harlequins was more of a challenging job. Whilst Gustard did have successes in his time in charge, it was almost a relief to many in the South-West London club when he went, with many claiming Gustard to be a divisive figure. It is fair to say that he would have learned from that experience, and Leicester would be a much more suitable fit for him than Quins would have been. Gustard would be an attractive option if Sinfield followed Borthwick to England.
Overall it is clear that Leicester are coming towards the end of Steve Borthwick being their Head Coach. It is likely that an agreement to take Borthwick to England will be agreed in the next few days. However everything that comes afterwards is very much uncertain. There are still questions to be answered about who goes with Steve, and who remains. Once that is ascertained, then an idea of who will come in after Borthwick will no doubt become much clearer. Leicester have played their hand well so far and come out of this saga looking good. There are still more big decisions to come, but it looks like Leicester are in a strong position to keep their turnaround in place.