14-year anniversary of Johnno's Welford Road swansong serves as stark reminder of what Tigers are missing - Andy Goode
If you were on Family Fortunes and the subject of Leicester legends came up, Martin Johnson would be the number one answer. Not because of his ability but for his force of character which is something the club is lacking at the moment.
It’s 14 years since Johnno played his last game at Welford Road and he epitomised the DNA of Leicester Tigers. He’s the most celebrated name from a big, gnarly forward pack and who can even remember who played in the backs in that team?!
I was part of that backline, nobody remembers us and rightly so because it was all about the forwards dominating games and the old adage of forwards win you matches and backs decide by how many was so true back then.
The game has changed a lot but there is still a good degree of truth to that saying. You look at the two most successful clubs in England in Exeter and Saracens and they have the two most dominant packs and best power games.
And, it’s clear for everyone to see what the DNA of those two clubs is. Identity and culture are words that can be bandied about too easily but both have got it spot on in those departments. There is an obvious strong bond between the players and they have a clear way of playing.
Wind the clock back 10 years and Exeter were only just winning promotion to the Premiership and who knew what Saracens were about? They’ve both been on a journey to get to where they are now and the reverse has happened to Leicester.
They’ve drifted away from what made them successful and since Richard Cockerill they have had back after back after back in charge of the club.
I spoke to CEO Simon Cohen the other day and he admitted that Matt O’Connor wouldn’t have been his choice when he was appointed. Geordan Murphy, another back, now has the full backing of the club and rightly so but he needs some help in the forwards.
The romantic side of me would love to see Johnno come back to Welford Road in the role of a director of rugby or sporting director but there’s also the likes of Graham Rowntree, Dean Richards, John Wells and others who might be available and have the Leicester DNA coursing through their veins.
I think it’s doubtful that Johnno would want to get involved again but Geordan Murphy is the main man now and you just feel that, together with someone else from a forwards perspective, he’ll be able to get the culture right if he’s allowed to bring in who he wants and is given time.
Successful eras are almost always built on stability and Tigers haven’t had that recently. That starts with the coaching staff but then there have been too many players coming and going because each coach wants something different.
Recruitment has been a huge issue for the club, as has been mentioned many times before, and from the outside you can’t pinpoint how Leicester are trying to play.
Right now the pack looks underpowered and the backline looks great on paper but you might as well have me playing in it with the quality of ball that they’re getting most of the time.
That would never have been the case in Johnno’s day. He wouldn’t have stood for it. The game has moved on and it’s easy to hark back to the good old days but the fact that it’s 14 years since England’s World Cup winning captain played his last game at Welford Road, before going on to lead Tigers in the Premiership final, does serve as a stark reminder of where Leicester were and how far they have to go to get back there.
Comments on RugbyPass
late hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
4 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
24 Go to comments