Old friends collide in dog-eat-dog world of the East Midlands derby

Geoff Parling is hoping that he can bring Phil Dowson’s Saints to heel at Welford Road on Saturday, after enjoying a dog walk with his long-time friend and coaching contemporary in the build-up to the 261st edition of the East Midlands derby.

Parling and Dowson, the older of the two by a couple of years, have been mates ever since they played together at Newcastle some two decades ago. Both left Newcastle, then the Falcons, in 2009, with Parling heading to Leicester and Dowson to Saints, and after varying lengths of time away, they are now back at the helm of their respective clubs and ready to go head-to-head in what should be a belter of a match.

“I know Dows and Vesty well, they’re both good men. I actually went for a dog walk with Dows there weeks ago. He doesn’t have a dog so he just came for a walk. I think my dog was waiting for his dog to turn up, and it never did!” Parling said.

“We catch up, our families meet up for some dinner, we know it is a job and it is part and parcel of what it is. But I think he’s done, and continues to do, some great things there.”

As for Dowson, the feeling of respect goes two ways. But to quote another famous Newcastle sporting figure, Kevin Keegan, he’d love it if Saints did the double over their rivals having won 32-26 earlier in the season.

“Geoff and I go a long way back and I have a lot of respect for him. I really like Geoff, I think he is a very good person and we have got a lot of shared history, having come through the academy together at Newcastle, playing together and then playing against each other,” he said.

“We have kept in touch over the years; we’d have zoom calls about lineouts, how to play against Leinster … all these sorts of different things. And now, weirdly, he is DoR there and I’m DoR here in one of the fiercest rivalries there is in the domestic game, so that’s exciting and I don’t think it’ll get in the way of our friendship.

“I am obviously desperate to get one over on him and I’d imagine he’d be the same; it’s like when you play against your mates, your siblings, it is one of those things that mean a little bit more because you can chirp a little bit and have the bragging rights.”

A bad result at Welford Road will not only impact on Dowson, but also his wife when she turns up for work on Monday.

“My wife works at Leicester Uni, so all her students and staff friends are Leicester fans and give her a ton of stick,” he revealed.

“One of the biggest frustrations of my career is that I never won at Welford Road (as a player),” he continued.

“I won playing for England A vs Ireland A. I think I had a draw there, but Welford Road was a place of nearlys, in terms of semi-final defeats, both as a coach and as a player, and George Chuter walking around and giving it ‘seven’ because he has got to seven finals in a row.

“Since I have moved into coaching, I have a half-decent record up there, and we want to continue to match ourselves against that in the white-hot intensity of it. Their fans are happy to tell me what they think in the game and after the game, and I think that is part of it as well.

“The derby is one of the best occasions of the year, something that we get excited about and I know Leicester get excited about: two very good sides, two sides that have had very good seasons, and obviously have a point to prove.”

A clash of styles normally makes for fascinating viewing and while Leicester have expanded their attacking mindset, Saturday’s game still has the feel of Roundheads versus Cavaliers.

While Tigers have been pigeon-holed as a set-piece side in the past, Parling believes that there’s more to Saints than fancy-dan back play.

“If you look at their stats across the table, their post-contact metres with ball in hand is very good, so they actually try and go through you as well. I think they are a team that is clear in how they want to play and they have got an identity, and it’s a great challenge for us,” he said.

Dowson is equally complimentary about Leicester: “Traditionally you’d say Leicester are particularly strong at set-piece, scrum and maul would be a huge foundational part. But I think Geoff Parling’s approach has been to bring in a more ambitious attacking style, I think they have scored the second-most tries off counter attacks, they are moving the ball more.

“Billy Searle has been excellent in terms of the way he distributes; JvP (Jack van Poortvliet) is one of the best 9s in the world, he is given the license to do things on the hoof, so they have got attacking threats throughout.

“I think those two things cobbled together – their attacking threat and their set-piece and their heritage – makes them a very dangerous side.”