This week’s news that Steve Borthwick is the man to replace Eddie Jones as England’s Head Coach comes as no surprise to anyone who follows English rugby. This is an announcement that has been coming ever since Jones was relived of the job under two weeks ago. Indeed this is a plan that would have been likely to be made in 2023 anyway, given how much Borthwick was the favourite for the position. As the move is now official, attentions now turn at Leicester Tigers to life after Borthwick, and what happens next?
Interim Life
Working out what to do next for Tigers, has been the second part of the jigsaw. The first part was confirming who would leave with Borthwick; which for now is Kevin Sinfield. With that cleared up, knowing what to do next becomes a lot simpler. Tigers can also plan for next steps with a rumoured £1m in compensation from the RFU, putting them in a strong position moving forward.
Tigers managed to beat the RFU to their big announcement by dropping the news, fifteen minutes before the Union did, delightfully ruining their big moment in the process. The press release not only confirmed the departures of Borthwick and Defence Coach Kevin Sinfield, but also revealed that veteran scrum half Richard Wigglesworth will be stepping up to be Interim Head Coach with immediate effect. Wigglesworth joined the club in late 2020 and has combined playing duties with being Attack Coach for Leicester. He now has an extended audition period to put his case forward for the job on a more permanent basis.
Tigers currently find themselves in a strange position. Usually if a club is looking for a new head Coach or Director of Rugby it is because something has gone wrong, with results and/or performances not up to standard, leading to an early departure. Therefore, this tends to give way to going in an opposite direction with fresh thinking to get things back on track. This is not the case here. Tigers are looking for a new Head Coach because of how well their previous one did. As a result, Leicester’s mindset will be in a different place to normal – continuity is more of a requirement currently. With that in mind, the departure of Sinfield ensures that Wigglesworth is probably the remaining coach that best fits the bill. It is perhaps unfortunate on Brett Deacon who has led the Premiership Cup side, however only those close to the squad will know the dynamics well enough to decide who is best placed to step up.
Taking the easy option?
Tigers are a club that has a mixed history when it comes to internal or perceived “easy” appointments, making the fanbase more wary than others. The last two – Matt O’Connor and Geordan Murphy did not end in success and were major contributors to the club finishing 11th in successive seasons. On the flipside, Dean Richards and Richard Cockerill were serial winners for the club and were internal appointments. John Wells and Pat Howard were also successful in their time in charge, with both again being internal promotions. Leicester have also been burnt with external appointments – Bob Dwyer and Macelo Loffreda came from outside the club to much fanfare and were both unsuccessful. The point here is that any appointment comes with risk – being an external candidate is not a proven sign of success with an internal promotion not a guarantee of outright failure, with the opposite also indeed true.
Tigers have been blessed with four options in front of them. Firstly, make an immediate long-term appointment, secondly appoint an interim with an external replacement coming in the Summer, or appoint an interim for now then make them the permanent successor. The fourth and final option would be to wait for the World Cup to finish and then make their move.
Option one would appear to have gone, which is no surprise. There are very few immediate options that spring to mind, and any decent options are under contract. Prising anyone out of a current position would be very challenging and cost much of that £1m sitting in Tigers’ pockets currently. Option four would have been more attractive if Borthwick had left in the summer as intended. It would have meant Tigers having an interim coach for a few months, like they are doing now. However, if they were to follow that route now, then they will be waiting for a whole year for their replacement to come in. Whilst they may still do that, it feels unlikely. It would not be good for the club, for Wigglesworth or the incoming coach if that were to happen. As a result, the interim solution feels the best case for the club at this stage.
Risk Free?
In any case, the promotion of Wigglesworth is almost a free hit for Tigers and as close to a win-win situation as the club can get. If Wigglesworth is not a success, then Tigers can continue with the plan of bringing in a long-term replacement for Borthwick over the summer, when the season has finished. In addition, the club can blame the mid-season disruption if results go awry. Alternatively, if Wigglesworth is a success, then Leicester have found themselves a new Head Coach without having to spend any of the £1m compensation paid to them.
In the meantime, it will be interesting to see what coaching decisions are made with Wigglesworth as Interim. Expect Matt Everard to step up into the Senior Coaching Staff, most likely as Defence Coach to replace Sinfield. Another option that may be under consideration is utilising veteran playmaker Jimmy Gopperth. As a player his signing has not quite worked out maybe as hoped, however he could offer a lot to Tigers as a coach, most possibly around the attack. Gopperth is currently coaching on the side at lower-level rugby, however did have influence in the Wasps attack and could help Leicester in this regard. It could also benefit Wigglesworth by allowing him to take a step back from the day to day coaching and focus on the bigger picture, and using his tactician’s skillset to a better use.
Something that needs considering in the short-term would be a direct replacement for Borthwick in the forwards department, especially around the line out. An option to consider would be someone like Louis Deacon, who has a promising CV after a good spell at Coventry in charge of their forwards and then recently with the Red Roses with their run to the World Cup final, winning plaudits for how well their pack functioned. If not Deacon, certainly there would be no harm in looking to bring someone in to help cover the forwards and ensure they are getting the coaching they need to keep moving forward.
External Candidates
The next six months will see Wigglesworth in charge, as he takes the team until the end of the season. The original thought process was that Borthwick would join England, with him going in the summer. As a result, it is to be expected that a lot of Tigers’ succession planning would be based upon someone joining to coincide accordingly. This thinking makes sense. There will be a lot more options available to Leicester, with people being at the end of their contracts, or approaching the end of their contracts meaning lower buyout clauses for example. Giving themselves as wide a pool as possible makes the most sense to Leicester, especially as there is little incentive to rush into an immediate decision as discussed.
A lot will determine on how well Wigglesworth does of course, with many inside Leicester wishing him to do well. It may be the case that all is required would be an experienced Director of Rugby to oversee proceedings or take much of the admin requirements away from Wigglesworth to free him up if he does succeed in his role. With that in mind, people like Leo Cullen or Paul Gustard come into contention, as mentioned last week. Another to consider would be someone like Andy French from Connacht, who has experience in both a Head Coach and Director of Rugby capacity and has done well under limited resources. Of course, Wigglesworth may not go as well as hoped, which would mean a more rounded Head Coach coming in. Another to consider would be John Dobson of the Stormers in South Africa, who may be tempted by a new challenge and the allure of a strong Pound to Rand conversion.
Whichever direction the club decide to go in, the reality is that all the foundations are already in place. The squad is packed full of young, hungry talented players, with plenty of world class operators already in place. Evolution not revolution has to be the buzzword and keep building on the work that Borthwick has done with the club. One area that does need improvement is the attack, that has not progressed as fast as other areas in Tigers’ game.
Overall, the disruption caused by the Borthwick’s departure mid-season is not ideal, with an air of uncertainty returning to Welford Road, just as life was becoming more settled. That being said, Leicester are in a strong position and with Wigglesworth at the helm for now, they can benefit from continuity and his sharp rugby brain. Whatever happens next, the club are in a far better position than July 2020 when the Borthwick era began.