Pat Howard lets rip: 'I'd some very hard, direct words with everybody up and down the chain'
Ex-Leicester boss Pat Howard believes the struggling Tigers will eventually be restored to their place at the top of the English game provided patience is shown with the new Steve Borthwick regime. The Australian, who played and coached at the club during its halcyon trophy-winning era, returned this time last year to conduct a wart and all review of the club that have fallen on hard times in recent years.
Leicester’s form on the pitch hasn’t yet improved much, Tigers in eleventh place in the currently suspended 2019/20 campaign after just four wins in 13 Gallagher Premiership outings. However, with more than 20 players leaving, a new CEO in Andrea Pinchen, and Borthwick ready to become head coach with Geordan Murphy becoming director of rugby, Howard feels that the wheels are in motion to restore a winning culture at the club.
Howard was revealingly initially asked to return on a full-time basis by recently departed CEO Simon Cohen, but he instead opted to conduct a root and branch review in 2019 that contained some unpalatable findings.
Speaking from Australia to LLTV, the Leicester club’s YouTube channel, Howard said: “Simon Cohen gave me a bell. He said, ‘Look, I do want some fresh eyes, you know the culture, do you want to come back to the UK permanently and live here again and what can we do?’ He was looking at all sorts of roles and management at that point.
“I said, ‘No, I have a family of four at home’. But I said, ‘Look, I have some time, I can come over for a couple of months with no agenda, have a look… are you happy for me to do that?’ He said, ‘Yes, that is great. Come over’. I was on a plane within a little while.
“I saw a place that I was surprised by. Culturally it was in more than a difficult place and I had some very hard, direct words with everybody up and down the chain. That is from Geordie to players, star players to Peter Tom as chairman, Simon Cohen because I just said, ‘Guys this isn’t good enough’.
“Sometimes you need the fresh eyes with no agenda to be able to go, ‘Look guys, the high expectations that a Martin Johnson would set, they aren’t here’. For all the things that Cockers (Richard Cockerill) can be accused of, he was a disciplinarian, he set really high standards.
“That was missing and it was clear that some things had gone and the facilities didn’t inspire as a consequence. Not the ground, the ground is one of the great places still to play today… but it was an absolutely top to bottom look and one of the key things was making sure the board, Oval Park, Welford Road, that spine of the organisation, was tight and it wasn’t at that time.”
Fingers have been pointed in many different directions over the years as to what has gone wrong at Leicester and while Howard concluded that no one single issue was at fault, he believes the imminent arrival of Borthwick will alter the mood for the better.
“If your chairman, CEO, coach, captain aren’t tight, if the boardroom and the changing room can’t connect, then how are you going to make decisions? There were lots and lots of anecdotal points where people believed the club went off the rails. People talked 2010, 2014, ’15, 2017 – there is all these sorts of trigger points but no one is at fault on its own.
“But you do need someone with really stern ability to go, ‘I’m going to take this by the reins and turn it around’… The board and Peter (Tom, the chairman) has been smart in terms of making changes now while there is some daylight and some clear space.
“Simon can hold his head high, he has some great succession planning. Andrea knows the organisation back to front, she knows what it’s like down in pumps underneath and she knows what it’s like to do the tickets, and she had actually done an internal look at Oval Park even before I got there and it formed the basis of some really good clarity.
“It’s just so important that unity, that clarity, that inspiration and I do really believe that these guys will act in the best interests of the game. It’s a lovely balance between the inspiration, someone that has just been to a World Cup final as a coach and someone that absolutely knows what success looks like with some certainty around delivering it under this culture because there is no one trick to success. It has got to fit the culture.
“You need some discipline and inspiration. I said in that report as well it would take a little bit of time. There has been multiple coaches. Aaron (Mauger) recruited the types of people he wanted to coach for a couple of years, Matt (O’Connor) recruited the type of people he wanted to coach for a couple of years. Even Cockers (Cockerill) recruited some of the people he wanted to coach. That doesn’t bring together a squad that has a great theme to it.
“There are high expectations with this group but don’t expect it absolutely day one because Steve and Geordie have got to form a team. I already saw that they let some people go already, I understand that. They did it with respect. I saw Jan (McGinity, head of elite performance recruitment) talk about it really… I’m really positive about what is possible and how they come out of this.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Finn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
2 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
1 Go to commentsGood article, I learnt quite a lot. A big sliding door moment was in the mid 00s when they rejected Steve Anderson's long term transformation and he wrote Ireland's strategy instead.
2 Go to commentsHi Dr Nick! I'm worried that I've started to enjoy watching England and have actually wanted them to win their last two games. What would you prescribe? On a more serious note, I've noticed that the standard of play in March is often better than early February. Do you think this is because of the weather or because the players have been together for longer?
10 Go to commentsMy question in all this brett is who is going to wear the consequences of these actions? Surely just getting the sack isn’t sufficient? A teenager working the till at woolies would probably get taken to court if they took $20 out of the till. You mean to tell me that someone can spend $2.6 million and get away with it? Where was it spent? What companies/people were the beneficiaries etc? How is it just being talked about as an ‘oopsie’ and we all just move on and not a matter of the court for gross negligence, fraud, take your pick…
18 Go to commentslove Manu too but England have relied on him coming back from injury for far too long and not sorted the position with someone else long term . It will be a blessing he has gone . Huge shame he was so injury prone . God speed Manu .
3 Go to commentsI agree with Ben Smith about Brett Cameron. The No. 6 position has to be a monster and a genuine lineout option, like Ollivon, Lawes (now Chessum), Du Toit, etc. The only player who fits that bill right now is Scott Barrett. A fit and fizzing Tuipolotu together with one of the young towers, Sam Darry or Josh Lord, would give Razor the freedom to play Barret at 6.
16 Go to commentsOutstanding article, Graham. Agree with all of it. And enjoy the style of writing too (particularly Grand Slap!).
3 Go to commentsI wouldn't pay a cent for that loafer. He just stands around, waiting for play to come his way. He won't make the Wallabies.
2 Go to commentsGood bit of te reo maori Nic. Or is that Niko or Nikora? On the theme of trees the Oaks v Totara. Game plan would be key. I have one but it would cost you.
10 Go to comments> Shaun Edwards’ You should not have to score 30 points to win a game, as exciting as it is. This statement was surprising to me. It is nonsensical .I guess it is a defence coach speaking. But head coach, defence and attacking coaches all work together. They are inseparable. You score more than the opposition to win. It only needs to be one score. You score whatever the game demands, whatever the opposition demand. You defend whatever it takes. The attack coach needs to be able to clock up 30pts if need be.
10 Go to commentsWho’d have thought, not having Farrell & Youngs kicking the ball at every possible opportunity and playing flat and allowing your centres to run and pass would pay off? No one could possibly have seen this coming. FML. It took a LONG time coming but at least that time has finally come. England need to find a backup to Lawrence. Freeman is the best candidate for me, I see no reason why he can't play 12. He's big, strong, fast and has great hands.
10 Go to commentsLove Manu but he's not the player he was and I imagine Bayonne have paid too much money for him.
3 Go to commentsNew Zealand have not beaten England since 2018 and even that was a pretty close shave.
1 Go to comments“a renewed focus on Scottish-qualified players” Scottish-qualified is another way of saying English. England has development more players for the Scotland national Rugby team in the last 4 years, than Scotland has.
2 Go to commentsThis sounds a lot like the old Welsh rugby proverb “Wales never lose. Other teams just score more points.”
5 Go to commentsFinally,at last, Borthwick has done what the whole of England have been crying out for. Ditch the kick chase and let the players have freedom to attack and run with the ball. It was great to see. Ford played really well and for the first time in ages was 5 yards closer to the gainline which then allowed a more attacking position . Pity it has taken 90 odd caps to do so. However, this has to continue and not be a false dawn . One issue. Marcus. With Ford having one really good game in 5 ,is he the answer long term . Smith puts bums on seats and is terrific to watch . How can you leave him out before he departs for France in disillusion . England are in danger of Simmons , Alex Goode , Cipriani , Mercer and now Smith being unable to get a selection ahead of “favourites” of the management regardless of form . Great to see England play so well .
2 Go to commentsCockerill was an abrasive player in the mould of a Georgian front rower who will have the respect of that pack. Looking forward to seeing what he can do with this exciting team, hopefully they can send a message to unions like Wales that money alone doesn't buy you wins.
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