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'He wants feedback... that's hugely infectious': The Borthwick effect at Leicester
It’s starting to feel a bit like old times at Leicester for veteran scrum-half Ben Youngs. Sixth place in the Gallagher Premiership isn’t yet the title-threatening potency of yesteryear but that position with two rounds of the regular season remaining is a heck of a lot more acceptable than the derisory consecutive eleventh-place finishes in recent seasons.
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Just seven of their 22 league games were won in 2019/20, a figure that dipped to six last term. Contrast that to this season’s ten wins from 20 (in reality it is nine wins from 18 when the two virus-cancellation results are excluded) in Borthwick’s first full campaign in charge.
For sure it has been reinvigorating and while Youngs has been absent for a decent chunk of it due to the Test centurion’s England commitments, time away that has seen Leicester turn to veteran Richard Wigglesworth and youngster Jack van Poortvliet, his half-dozen league starts has been enough to appreciate the transformation that is underway with Borthwick at the helm.
The 31-year-old, who last month declared himself unavailable for 2021 Lions selection, would have somewhat known his new club boss from his England days, Borthwick serving as Eddie Jones’ assistant for five Six Nations campaigns and the run to the 2019 World Cup final, and Youngs is enjoying what he has experienced so far at Leicester even though he only started last month’s Challenge Cup final defeat to Montpellier from the bench.
“Internationally he obviously did the forwards, so I wouldn’t have a huge amount of time with him actually coaching one-on-one because he would be doing the pack,” explained Youngs when asked by RugbyPass at this week’s Leicester media briefing about his rapport with Borthwick.
Ben Youngs has been speaking 30 days after a Sunday newspaper first revealed that the England centurion scrum-half was unavailable for 2021 Lions tour selection https://t.co/2CS6wGu7f6
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 1, 2021
“We would overlap and stuff but for me, he is a man that really drives standards, he’s a guy that wants to be successful, he wants feedback, he wants to get the best out of himself, the best out of others and that becomes hugely infectious. He is a guy that really wants to evolve each player and try to get the best out of them – what that looks like and how he goes about that from player to player is different depending on what their wants and needs are.
“And I just think he has come in and given us some clear direction and clear DNA about right, this is where we are going, this is how it is going to be done and this is how I am going to help you get there. Hopefully, you can help me and I can help you and we will all get on board and we’ll get after it and that is what we have done.”
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It might sound odd a fearsome-looking boss willingly asking for feedback, but Youngs and co have had no hesitation in stepping forward to make their views known. “That is what our job is,” he continued. “Coaches give you feedback and your job is to take that and do as you please with it, to hopefully do the right things with it. You have got to understand coaches see what we can’t see. They can sit in the stands, can see this and see that but they can never actually feel how you feel in the games.
“Let’s say I am keeping the ball for ten phases and we’re not going anywhere and he is in the stands going well, why are you keeping it for ten phases, you’re not going anywhere? Well, I’d say we are because of X, Y, Z, I feel he is dropping off that space, we’re putting fatigue in and that is where the conversation between a player and a coach is. They see what we can’t and we feel what they can’t and then you come to a solution, don’t you?”
Four points ahead of seventh-place London Irish and six points behind fifth-place Northampton, Leicester will finish out their Premiership campaign with this Saturday’s home game versus Bristol followed by a final day outing to Wasps. “Definitely we have come on a huge amount,” added Youngs, reflecting on the confidence-boosting campaign.
“There is no doubt. We have had to strip our game back and start from the fundamentals of our game which is set-piece, scrum, maul, lineout, being direct, kicking game, kicking strategy and all that. We have stripped it right back and I’m sure when we get a full pre-season we will layer on the next bit, layer the next part of our attack and how we put teams under pressure in a different way.
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“So for me, it has definitely been a success and I want to make sure the next two weeks don’t fizzle out. We want to attack the next two weeks and make sure we finish strong and go, yeah that has been a success. We did this, we did that. We played Bristol, this is where we were against them, we made the top six, we made Europe. There are plenty of things still for us to try and do but there is no doubt that definitely we have come on a huge amount under Steve in a short time.”
Ex-All Blacks back-rower Steven Luatua has missed five of the six Bristol defeats this season, an absence that highlights his importance as a big overseas recruithttps://t.co/TaMGScx3nz
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 2, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Well 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…??? 🤑🤑🤑
2 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
2 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)
2 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?
2 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.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
19 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
19 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
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