For the first time in the two years since Head Coach Steve Borthwick joined Leicester Tigers, there are question marks being raised over the team’s performances. Back to back defeats to Saracens and Sale have meant that the Champions currently sit 7th in the table, with only two victories from their first five fixtures. Their start to the season has been described as “clunky” by Borthwick, with many areas of their game not quite hitting their previous standards. One particular area under pressure is the attack – so what is the issue and how can it be fixed?
Background
Under Borthwick, Tigers have gone through a dramatic transformation since their consecutive seasons finishing 11th. This is now a team that quite rightly won the Premiership last season, as they were better, stronger and cleverer in their game than all their opponents. However, one of the aspects of their game that is not quite as refined as other teams, has been their attack.
It is not fair to call their attack poor last season – Tigers played some good rugby and scored tries through their backs. Indeed their back three players were amongst the highest scorers last season. However Tigers’ attack has always been seen as their weakest suit, with the fairest description being that it is ”workmanlike”. A lot has been made about the summer departures of key players and attributing that to the sluggish attack seen so far. However doing so is too simplistic. There were plenty of occasions last season when they were not involved yet Leicester still managed to look threatening ball in hand. Indeed on a personnel front, Leicester still have plenty of exciting talent they can deploy with Nemani Nadolo, Anthony Watson and Harry Potter amongst others all at their disposal. The issue they have is creating the space to let free those talents.
Physicality Problems
Leicester’s attacking game plan is built around utilising their forwards as their main focal point. They rely on their heavy forward pack to punch holes into the opposition defence, winning the gainline battle every carry. This is to ensure they can generate momentum through quick ball, suck in opposition defenders to create space out wide for their backs and particularly their wingers to exploit. In addition, they utilise their forward pack to wear down opposition teams, backing their fitness and physicality to be superior, capitalising on tiring legs in the final quarter to create space from nothing. Leicester have managed to demonstrate this once so far this season, away at Northampton Saints, where the Tigers pack demolished the opposition, consigning three to the sin-bin, and exploiting the space to score four tries late on.
The issue that Leicester are finding this season, is that they are being matched up front. Opposition teams know that when playing Tigers, the physical elements of the game are of paramount importance. As a result, teams are now better prepared to deal with the threats Leicester bring, and they are now more equipped to handle the intensity that is needed to play them. Therefor it is not surprising that the games Leicester have lost this season – Exeter, Saracens and Sale – the consistent factor is that Leicester have not been physically dominant in those games. In fact, it is fair to say that Saracens and Sale won that physicality battle meaning Leicester were stopped at source, looking blunted in both games.
This is something that will see Borthwick working his charges hard on the Oval Park training pitch to improve. Leicester’s physicality is the area of their game that they hold their highest stock by, priding themselves on being the toughest and most intense pack in the league. Any evidence that they are looking underpowered will be warning signs to Borthwick and his coaching team, and will see Head of Physical Performance Aled Walters working on plans to get this back up to speed.
Personnel and Game Plan Problems
Another reason for the attack not firing has been due to the personnel issues they have faced. All teams have injuries and Leicester are not alone to have players away on International duty however they are struggling more than most to cope with the absences they are facing. Integrating new signings, juggling injuries and with key players coming back late because of Summer tours have all combined to ensure Leicester are struggling with cohesion and continuity. Whereas last season, Tigers did not make too many changes at the beginning of the season, this year there has been a different XV week to week, meaning combinations are struggling to form. As a result, Leicester have been inaccurate in their passing leading to more errors and any promising positions breaking down.
Centre Concerns
Leicester are also facing issues in how they wish to utilise their backline. Alongside their dominant forward pack, Tigers have always had a centre partnership that are strong ball carriers, and can punch holes with their direct running, especially from 12. Whilst Moroni has now gone, Dan Kelly, Matt Scott and Guy Porter are still in place and all are the aggressive carriers that Leicester’s gameplan rely on. This type of centre is exactly what fly-half Freddie Burns prefers, as he likes to operate close to the opposition defensive line and use his hard running centres to draw and fix the defence to create space out wide.
However, Kelly and Porter are currently injured which has meant that new signing Jimmy Gopperth has been the preferred man at 12. Gopperth is a different type of centre to others, a key reason why he was signed. Gopperth is comfortable at 10 and 12 and was signed to provide a double distribution option to Leicester, allowing Tigers to play a different type of game when required. The issue is that Leicester have continued to play their normal gameplan, forcing Gopperth to perform carrying duties he is ill-equipped to do. In addition, with no hard-running centre fixing the defence, opposition teams have found it easier to fan out across the pitch. This has shut down any space making Tigers a lot easier to defend against, leading Tigers to be be guilty of playing far too much rugby behind the gainline, again making them far too blunt in the process.
Gopperth is not a bad player, however he is not being utilised properly. Leicester are asking a man who is not Dan Kelly, does not play like Kelly, has never played like Kelly and neither will he ever play like Kelly, yet is being asked to play like Dan Kelly. The ensuing problems are all to see, however they are coaching failures more than any fault of the player. If Gopperth is to remain at 12, then a gameplan must be crafted to get the best out of him, otherwise the same problems will remain.
Kicking Problems
One of the criticisms aimed at Tigers is that they continue to kick too much. However, this is down to the previous issues. Leicester are not generating quick ball from their forwards, and their backs are not generating any space either. As a result, they are being left with very slow ball too often, meaning this must be kicked away due to running out of problems. Leicester are guilty of relying on kicking, however if their other aspects of their attacking game were working, it is likely that they would be using the boot a lot less.
Fixing the Problems
Firstly, Leicester have to work on being smarter in attack. For example, Leicester are not getting their detail right with their carrying. This means carriers like Jasper Wiese are running into two or three men tackles rather than a one v one scenario where success is more likely. As a result, Leicester need to look at moving away from one out runners with variations in passing to get their carriers running into soft shoulders more. This will allow them to get over the gainline, generate momentum and quick ball and play on the front foot.
Secondly, a change in personnel is required. This is tough given possible injuries in camp, however the reality is that the experiment with Gopperth at 12 is not working currently. The attempt to play with a dual distributor model has meant that the attack looks confused, clunky, and does not work for Gopperth either. A return to having a hard-running centre at twelve has to be the way forward. Ideally Kelly or Porter would be able to step in here. Alternatively, Matt Scott or Phil Cokanasiga are also suited to fulfil this role. This will allow Leicester to get the best out of Burns at 10, going back to fixing opposition defences and put them under pressure, rather than give them an easy target yards behind the gainline.
Lastly, the coaching staff should look to encourage the squad to play with a little more freedom than they currently do. This does not mean turning into a New Zealand tribute act; however it does mean giving the team a higher license to try things. Leicester only made two clean breaks against Sale, compared to the opposition’s six, and only made a single offload to Sale’s incredible 17. Whilst this does come from Leicester not winning the physicality battle reducing the ability to throw an offload; showing a little more ambition would go a long way in being able to break down stubborn and well-organised defences.
So far this season, Tigers’ attack has very much struggled to fire, making them look very blunt into the bargain. There are reasons for this to be the case, however more work needs to happen on the training field for it to improve. Otherwise, Leicester will struggle to recreate the success of last season. The personnel is there, it just needs some attention applied to it.