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'We're going to meet up at Darren Garforth's house for a socially distanced pint': 20 years on from Leicester's breakthrough European title

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by David Jones/PA Images via Getty Images)

So much for the best-laid plans to mark the 20th anniversary of the breakthrough Heineken Cup title win by Dean Richards’ Tigers. A swanky reunion dinner was the idea for May 19. Instead, some of the yesteryear Leicester stars such as Ben Kay made do with a cold one at the gaff belonging to their old tighthead and the much-touted gala ball was delayed until June 25 when all the pandemic restrictions are lifted and Welford Road can welcome back glittering stars from a glorious past.

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Kay can’t wait for the hoopla to unfold. “It was meant to be Wednesday but it’s not so we are now going to meet up at Darren Garforth’s house for a socially distanced pint,” he quipped to RugbyPass with a mischievous glint in his eye. The 45-year-old BT Sport pundit will be forever remembered as one of Clive Woodward’s 2003 England World Cup winners but even that edge-of-seat classic final versus the Wallabies in Sydney doesn’t compare with the drama that unfolded on a balmy 2001 Saturday afternoon in Paris with his club pals at the Tigers.

He had only pitched up at Leicester in 1999 but there were plenty of seasoned warriors in that dressing room who were carry-overs from the amateur era and hellbent on chasing down their Heineken Cup holy grail. Shatteringly beaten in the 1997 final by Brive, they had to bide their time before they nabbed a shot of redemption in the most testing of surroundings at the Parc des Princes.

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A thriller materialised and it seemed as if the Diego Dominquez’-inspired Stade were all set to deliver, leading coming down the finishing straight before Leicester grabbed glory from the jaws of defeat, Austin Healey embarking on a dizzying run before inviting Leon Lloyd to get in at the corner for the last-gasp try that Tim Stimpson converted for a mesmerising 34-30 triumph.

“It was without a doubt my favourite rugby match,” enthused Kay, revelling in the opportunity to jog his memory to a time when Tigers were a team of household names and the envy of English rugby. “But the anxiety beforehand, I knew how much it meant to everyone at the club but particularly some of those players that were getting on towards the end of their career.

“You knew it possibly was their last chance so it felt extra responsibility because of that and then playing Stade Francais in their own back garden, beautiful weather. I can remember being in the holding room that the changing rooms fed in from either side looking out through the glass doors and there was a heat haze, so everything was blurred but you could see red, white and green on one side and the blue and red on the other.

“Then running out to that atmosphere, it was my second season at Tigers so I was quite new to it all. It was the biggest atmosphere I had ever played in and I could remember thinking, ‘I’ll never be as nervous for a game again’ – and I genuinely never was.

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“But to win it in the manner we did, the relief of that and then Dean Richards shunning the official post-match do and walking us down to the pub at the end of the street that ran between the two stadiums where all the Tigers fans were. Having a beer with the trophy and the Tigers fans was hugely special.”

Tigers went back to the well the following year, choking Munster in the 2002 Cardiff decider, but what followed over the intervening years was a gradual stagnation. Leicester were last in the final in 2009, last in the semi-finals in 2016, and with their Premiership form falling off a cliff in a domestic tournament they haven’t won since 2013, they have been consigned to the less glamorous environs of the Challenge Cup in recent times.

Second-tier activity isn’t what Tigers fans ever envisaged happening at their giant of a club but it’s a sign of how the once mighty have fallen. Steve Borthwick, though, is slowly earning his stripes in trying to treat the rot, some upward mobility in the Premiership enhanced by their run to Friday’s European final versus Montpellier.

The fixture isn’t the main event at Twickenham this weekend. Toulouse versus La Rochelle is the heavyweight Champions Cup final match-up, but Tigers aren’t going to snub their nose at the chance of collecting the secondary trophy to endorse the past year’s progress under Borthwick whose no-nonsense root-and-branch revamp is similar to the tough-talking approach taken by Michael Cheika at misfiring Leinster all those years ago.

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“When you are in the position that Leicester are in the last couple of years, the last three years, you want something to play for and some silverware,” reckoned Kay, delighted at the prospect of seeing Tigers involved in some finals rugby after an underwhelming series of campaigns, notably consecutive eleventh place Premiership finishes that were just one spot away from top-flight relegation.

“As Pat Lam said last year (when Bristol won the Challenge Cup), it’s an opportunity to test yourself in a final so that when you keep building and get to where you want to be you have got that experience so that is important, but rugby players are competitive beasts.

“It doesn’t matter what the competition is, when you get to a final you give it absolutely everything. Steve Borthwick will see this as just a stepping stone but it is a nice test for the boys and a big event – hopefully, there will be some even bigger events to come down the line for them.”

So what has Borthwick done to conjure some better results in his first head coaching role after years of assisting Japan, England and the Lions at Test level? “He has simplified everything quite a lot with absolute clarity on what he wants from the players. Everyone is doing exactly the same thing, knowing the Leicester way under Steve Borthwick.

“It’s not particularly complicated yet but it’s that foundation piece that most teams that go on and achieve something with any longevity have and then they build on top of that. You look at a Saracens or an Exeter Chiefs, there was a certain way they were playing at the beginning that was their identity. Everyone knew what their strength was and then they have gradually added to that as the years have gone by and become at times unplayable.

“That is probably his goal, to get four or five areas absolutely nailed on so that everyone is 100 per cent together on which makes you very difficult to play against and then add to those. That is when you start getting to the impossible-to-play-against territory.”

Has Kay seen enough to soothe the pain felt in recent years when Leicester diced with dreaded Premiership relegation? “That was very painful but what it has shown is that Leicester don’t have any god-given right to be there and the other thing is there were a lot of people that did lots of good but it just became almost self-fulfilling and a spiral down.

“It almost took hitting rock bottom to see the way back to where Leicester and Leicester fans feel they should be and that is why it has been so important that Steve Borthwick has come in with some fresh eyes and said, ‘Right, we are starting from absolute scratch’. One of the things that caused the spiral was people trying to hold onto the past a little bit.

“When you have had success and been in ten finals on the trot, it’s very difficult to say, ‘Right, we need to start from scratch and we might not win anything for a couple of years and we might not be in finals for a couple of years but we can lay the foundations’.

“It’s almost when you are getting to semi-finals and finals and not winning them it’s, ‘Well, we can’t be doing that much wrong, can we?’ But the results are probably the last thing that goes so it has been very chastising for all Leicester fans and anyone involved with Leicester but you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

An important aspect in altering that atmosphere is how the revamp of the Tigers academy – something RugbyPass documented in a 2019 six-part series – is now paying fruit with talents emerging who have the potential to go on and enjoy prosperous long-term careers at Leicester. Previously, what was emerging just wasn’t up to it, reckoned Kay who has had a role on the club’s board since 2014.

One of the areas that wasn’t functioning for Leicester was the academy,” he admitted. “Even though they were winning competitions it wasn’t producing what an academy should, which is players coming into the senior squad and being long-term players for you that you have developed yourself. That was addressed four or five years ago and it has taken this long for the results of that to come through and you are now seeing local homegrown talent coming in and pressuring international players with over 100 caps.

“The really interesting thing now will be, and I think back to Harry Ellis ousting Austin Healey as the scrum-half, when do these players oust some guys like Dan Cole or Ben Youngs? So Jack van Poortvliet has been outstanding. Joe Heyes this season has really taken the next step up. There was some debate as to whether he would take that next step up but he has been fantastic and now Dan Cole must feel under huge pressure.

“But the star of the season has been Freddie Steward. He looks like a 50-cap veteran in his style of play, such a calm head on young shoulders that he has probably been the standout. But it’s hugely pleasing for anyone who has been involved with Leicester for a long time to see that homegrown talent coming in rather than going off and having to look abroad all the time to find someone to fill a hole left by someone else.”

  • BT Sport 1 will show Leicester Tigers vs Montpellier in the final of the European Rugby Challenge Cup live from Twickenham on Friday, May 21, from 7pm

 

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Jon 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 7 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

30 Go to comments
A
Adrian 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

30 Go to comments
T
Trevor 11 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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