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Blast from the past back at ailing Leicester to mentor Geordan Murphy
Ex-Bath boss Mike Ford won’t be the only advisor in Geordan Murphy’s ear next season. The Leicester coach will also be tapping into the knowledge of former Tigers great Pat Howard in an effort to revive the ailing fortunes of the Welford Road club.
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Rookie head coach Murphy was handed the reins in dramatic fashion last season, taking charge on an interim basis following the sacking of Matt O’Connor following a horrible first-day defeat at Exeter.
Despite going on to be given the job on a full-time basis over the winter, Murphy struggled to consistently improve results and they were in the throes of a Gallagher Premiership relegation battle when Ford was brought on board to help out at the end of March.
Leicester eventually secured their Premiership status, their 11th place finish just enough to steer clear of relegated Newcastle.
However, while Ford is staying on to continue to assist Murphy at a club that was put up for sale on Tuesday with a retail value of £60million, Mirror Sport have revealed that former boss Howard will also be helping out.
Pat Howard to 'mentor' Geordan Murphy as Leicester Tigers put up For Sale sign | @alexspinkmirror https://t.co/VSX3weCdZP
— Mirror Sport (@MirrorSport) June 26, 2019
“Pat is going to be coming in to help Geordan and help make sure the changes he proposed go through and improve things on the pitch,” said Tigers chairman Peter Tom.
“He’s going to come in a week a month to mentor Geordie. Mike Ford is staying as well. He did a great job for us towards the end of last season.”
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We have today announced plans for the sale of the club alongside a full strategic review as part of long-term plans to reclaim our status as a dominant force in English and European Rugby.https://t.co/b8IqwWuLDc
— Leicester Tigers (@LeicesterTigers) June 25, 2019
Howard was initially involved in what was described as a hard-hitting review towards the end of last season, a campaign that went into the history books as the famed club’s worst in the professional era.
It was 2007 when Howard guided Leicester to Premiership glory, the same season they finished beaten finalists in the Heineken European Cup. After finishing with rugby, he went on to forge a career with Cricket Australia that came to an end last year following the ball-tampering controversy.
Cricket’s loss can now be rugby’s gain as Leicester have high hopes that Howard’s mentoring role will provide the necessary guidance to help fast-track Murphy to coaching maturity as he begins his first full season in charge.
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“We’re putting in place a whole series of things to significantly improve our position on the pitch. We’re pretty confident about how things will go next season,” added Tom before addressing the proposed sale of the club.
Tom Youngs' insight into the emotions of Leicester Tigers' relegation battle will set you up for your Premiership Rugby weekend
— liam heagney (@heagneyl) April 5, 2019
“We will make sure we find a buyer that will do all the things we consider important as custodians of Tigers and the club’s history.
“Our decision won’t necessarily be to do with price. It will be as much about the commitment of the would-be purchaser to the club’s long-term future.”
Leicester are further reinforcing their team off the field with the appointment of Jan McGinity in the new position of head of elite performance recruitment and a new role for Ged Glynn as head of performance pathway and talent identification.
McGinity has been head of sports operations at the Scottish Rugby Union since 2017 following a four-year spell as head of recruitment in Premiership Rugby with Worcester Warriors. He 10 years’ experience overseeing the largest rugby athlete management company in the UK.
https://twitter.com/LeicesterTigers/status/1143802227225694215
He will be responsible for player contracts, salary cap management and managing relationships with key stakeholders within the game, with a focus on the player recruitment industry.
Glynn’s new role will provide extra dedicated focus on the key area of scouting at all levels as well as continued direct responsibility for the club’s successful academy system.
WATCH: Episode one of The Academy, the six-part RugbyPass documentary series looking at how Leicester Tigers develop their players
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to comments