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Leicester fans give their verdict on new head coach Steve Borthwick after first game

By Online Editors
(Photo by Leicester Tigers)

New Leicester Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick took the embattled club into their first game of the Premiership restart, a daunting away trip against the league leaders Exeter Chiefs

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Borthwick has taken over a Leicester squad that has seen 26 players depart, including the England pair of Jonny May and Manu Tuilagi, while a pay row attracted plenty of negative headlines.

The club has been on a downward spiral in recent years running through coaches Aaron Mauger, Matt O’Connor and Geordan Murphy over the last few seasons and narrowly escaped Premiership relegation last season. In a re-shuffle, Murphy has been elevated into the Director of Rugby role with Borthwick filling his old head coaching role.

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Elliot Daly speaks to the press ahead of Bristol clash.

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Elliot Daly speaks to the press ahead of Bristol clash.

The former England captain has been assisting Eddie Jones with the national side coaching during that time, seeing the side reach the World Cup final last year. On his arrival at Welford Road, the coach took his players to the stands of the famous ground to give an inspired speech about turning around the club’s fortunes by re-finding the ‘DNA’ of old.

Yesterday’s clash against Exeter was the first test of Borthwick’s side mettle and whether they would respond to Borthwick’s challenge, and many Leicester fans were happy with the toughness their side showed, claimng the ‘old gnarliness’ is back under Borthwick’s influence.

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The response online was overwhelming positive by the club’s supporters, who have had little to cheer about with lifeless performances leading to more questions and off field turmoil embroiling the upper levels of management. The last time they had visited Sandy Park, Exeter had piled 52 points on them.

One fan claimed they will be pushing for ‘top six’ from their current position of 11th, only behind Saracens.

Borthwick was overall pleased with the effort of his players, calling their attitude ‘outstanding’ but stopped short of hyperbole by adding some realism by saying ‘the team isn’t in the position it is in for no reason’/

“We made mistakes and there are things to learn, but the effort and the attitude of the players was outstanding.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do because the team isn’t in the position it is in the league for no reason.”

 

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Trevor 2 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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B
Bull Shark 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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