Murphy must be given complete control at Tigers - Andy Goode
It’s taken long enough but now the ‘interim’ prefix has been removed from Geordan Murphy’s title at Leicester, he has to be given complete control in order to make Leicester competitive again.
A lot of people will question the timing of this announcement, given that Tigers are on their worst run of form for 43 years, and you can understand that point of view but I just think it’s an acknowledgement that the title should never have been left as interim for so long.
Making someone an interim head coach for a week or two is one thing but to leave it for over three months just raises question marks and also creates doubts in the players’ minds as to what’s going on.
Now he can tell players that they’ll be heading for the exit if they aren’t pulling their weight.
They’re missing Tom Youngs, who’s out with a knee injury at the moment, as he always puts his body on the line for the cause and sets the tone but too many other players just aren’t showing what it means to play for Leicester.
You just hope Murphy doesn’t have one hand tied behind his back while trying to do the job.
He has to have complete control of the environment in terms of the coaching setup, recruitment of players and everything that goes with that. There is a rugby committee at Leicester but Geordan has to have the authority to make decisions now.
Can you imagine Mark McCall being told who he can and can’t sign? It just doesn’t happen. If you’re going to be judged on the team’s performance and results, you need to be the one responsible for deciding on who you have coaching and playing underneath you.
George Ford said at the weekend that Leicester have been left behind by some other teams. He’s right and their recruitment in recent times has been abysmal.
A huge part of that recruitment has been on Ford himself though. There’s no doubting his ability on the front foot but his salary costs more than those of Freddie Burns and Owen Williams combined and that’s without the significant outlay to get him out of his contract at Bath.
The problems at Tigers go way beyond him and he shouldn’t be made a scapegoat in any way but his signing didn’t fit in with the transfer policy of the club and I do think it was a naïve bit of business and a panic signing.
The result is a massive imbalance in the squad and there just isn’t the squad depth or quality up front to furnish a backline that is brilliant on paper but hasn’t performed or had the platform to perform on the pitch.
Poor management off the field and recruitment have got Leicester into this position and Geordan has to be given the reins fully and he has to be ruthless in terms of the players he wants to move on, as well as bringing new faces in.
In terms of recruitment on the playing side, it takes three years to shape your own squad, though, and he will have to be given time and autonomy in order to correct the mistakes that have been made in recent years.
Jose Mourinho was sacked as manager of Manchester United on the same day that Geordan Murphy was confirmed as Leicester’s permanent head coach and they might be different sports but there are huge parallels between the two clubs.
Both are absolute behemoths of clubs that became accustomed to success but are now adjusting to a new reality. Both had real stability during their periods of domination, Manchester United with Sir Alex Ferguson and Leicester with Dean Richards and then Richard Cockerill.
Football is a completely different ball game and Mourinho did spend £400 million on players but he wasn’t allowed to bring in the central defenders he said he was promised in the summer and there has been strong criticism of the board at both Manchester United and Leicester Tigers.
As the top man you live and die by the sword and, as a result, you have to be able to make the key decisions. Geordan’s first one should be who comes in underneath him to help out with the defence, although interviews have already taken place and it remains to be seen whether it has been his choice.
The defensive issues were there under Matt O’Connor and it was made public that he was asked to bring in a new defence coach during the summer. That didn’t happen and it is finally happening now but the identity of the new face will be very interesting.
Dave Ellis, Brad Davis and Mike Ford are among the names that have been linked with the club.
The worst thing Leicester could do is hire Ford because he will want to be head coach and Geordan will always be looking over his shoulder because of what happened at Bath.
Ellis is coaching at Kenilworth RFC in Midlands 2 West (South) at the moment, so it’s hard to see that as an ambitious appointment, but I worked with Davis at Wasps and he would be a great choice.
Geordan has been at the club for 21 years. He was a teenager when he arrived and it isn’t possible to care more for a club than he does for Tigers. The players owe him some big performances in the coming weeks now to show that they’re behind him and that they can lift the dark cloud that’s hanging over the club at the moment.
It used to be a minimum requirement to win a trophy every year at Leicester and the bare minimum is still to finish in the top four. They are only six points off fourth place in the Premiership, so that remains a possibility but things have to change quickly.
Conversely, they are just three points off the bottom of the table. As someone who played at the club for 10 years, it isn’t nice to see where they’re at right now and Geordan acknowledged after the defeat at Bristol that relegation is something that has to be on their radar if they continue to play this poorly.
The beauty of the Premiership this season is that both the top four and relegation are possibilities heading into the New Year. It’s a case of better late than never in terms of this announcement and now everyone can start working towards ensuring that they’re moving closer to the former and further away from the latter.
It has been mismanagement off the field that has led to the downward spiral Leicester are in. It’s going to take a lot of time to get them back to top of English rugby and there’ll a bit of pain along the way I think but Geordan Murphy has to have complete control if he’s to get them there.
Comments on RugbyPass
No way. If you are trying to picture New Zealand rugby with an All Blacks mindset, there have been two factors instrumental to the decline of NZ rugby to date. Those are the horror that the Blues have become and, probably more so, the fixture that the Crusaders became. I don’t think it was healthy to have one team so dominant for so long, both for lack of proper representation of players from outside that environment and on the over reliance on players from within it. If you are another international side, like Ireland for example, sure. You can copy paste something succinct from one level to the next and experience a huge increase in standards, but ultimately you will not be maximizing it, which is what you need to perform to the level the ABs do. Added to that is the apathy that develops in the whole game as a result of one sides dominance. NZ, Super, and Championship rugby should all experience a boom as a result of things balancing out. That said, there is a lot of bad news happening in NZ rugby recently, and I’m not sure the game can be handled well enough here to postpone the always-there feeling of inevitable decline of rugby.
4 Go to commentsNo SA supporter miss Super Rugby - a product that is experiencing significant head wind in ANZ - the competition from rival codes are intense, match attendance figures are at a historical low and the negativity of commentators such as Kirwan and Wilson have accelerated the downward spiral in NZ. After the next RWC in 2027 sponsors will follow Qantas and start leaving in droves.
2 Go to commentsLike others, I am not seeing the connection between this edition of the Crusaders and the All Blacks future prospects under Razor. I think the analysis of the Crusaders attack recently is helpful because Razor and his coaching team used to be able to slot new guys in to their systems and see them succeed. Several of Razor’s coaches are still there so it would be surprising if the current attack and set piece has been overhauled to a great extent - but based on that analysis, it may have been. Whether it is too many new guys due to injuries or retirement or a failure of current Crusaders systems is the main question to be answered imo. It doesn’t seem relevant for the ABs.
4 Go to commentsharry potter is set in stone. he creates stability and finishes well. exactly what schmidt likes. he’s the ben smith of australian rugby. i think it could quite easily be potter toole and kellaway for the foreseeable future.
5 Go to commentsThis is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to commentsThanks 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.
21 Go to commentsWhat a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
4 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
5 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
7 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf 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.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
2 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to comments