Ruthless Tigers
Coach O’connor axed by Leicester
Leicester Tigers last night acted ruthlessly to sack head coach Matt O’connor just one game into the new Gallagher Premiership season.
Never before has a Premiership coach been axed so early in the season, hinting at the depth of turmoil behind the scenes at England’s best supported and most decorated club. The 10-time champions, once a byword for stability and success, have now dispatched three main men inside 18 months.
Assistant coach and former player Geordan Murphy has been placed in charge on an interim basis and will lead the team for Saturday’s match against Newcastle Falcons at Welford Road.
O’connor’s fate was sealed by a six-try 40-6 thrashing by Exeter Chiefs last Saturday, although the writing has been on the wall since Leicester missed out on the playoffs last season for the first time since 2004. Reports of player discontent have swirled during the past few weeks. O’connor’s cause was not helped by a later than expected return from his holidays and disagreements over coaching appointments.
But the Australian ultimately paid the price for on-field results. He was appointed to replace Richard Cockerill, whom he success- fully worked alongside between 2010 and 2013, in April 2016.
The Tigers lost six straight games late in 2017, their worst run since 1965, and have suffered humiliating results, notably 39-0 and 33-10 reverses against Castres and Munster in the Champions Cup.
O’connor will point out how fine the margins of success are, given that they were seconds away from beating Wasps and qualifying for the 2017 Premiership final. Last season too, Leicester had their play-off place snatched away from them at the death by Newcastle at Welford Road.
Yet O’connor’s 50 per cent win record was in no way good enough for a club with such high expectations as Leicester. As O’connor himself admitted many times, the target was never top-four finishes but trophies. “Matt was appointed head coach in April 2017 on the basis of his previous Premiership experience and his knowledge of the club,” Peter Tom, the Leicester chairman, said. “But we believe the time is right to make this change in the best interests of the Tigers moving forward.
“We would like to thank Matt for his hard work and commitment to the club in two spells at Welford Road, and we wish him and his family well for the future.”
The spotlight will now turn to the recent decision-making of the Leicester board, led by chief executive Simon Cohen. Cockerill was sacked as director of rugby in January 2017 despite never missing out on the play-offs and then Aaron Mauger, who had been parachuted into work alongside the former hooker, was dispatched in March
The writing has been on the wall since they missed out on the last play-offs
soon after winning the Anglowelsh Cup.
The choice of O’connor always appeared an odd fit given that he did not offer a clean break with the past and his subsequent track record with Queensland Reds and Leinster was hardly inspired. That in part was because of Leicester’s convoluted decision-making structure. A rugby group, including Tom and former players Rory Underwood and Ben Kay, proposes a coach to an 11-strong board. O’connor emerged as a compromise candidate with other, more qualified coaches overlooked.
There are questions too over their recruitment, with big money being diverted towards stellar backs such as George Ford, Matt Toomua and Manu Tuilagi at the expense of the pack, traditionally the bedrock of every great Leicester team but now a shadow of its former self.
Their next appointment will be crucial, although Murphy will stay in charge for the foreseeable future. He will at least have the temporary backing of supporters as one of the club’s most decorated players. In 16 years as a player, he won eight Premiership titles and two European Cups.
Having rejected an approach from Cardiff Blues, he will now lead a coaching team including Mark Bakewell, Boris Stankovich and Brett Deacon. Changing the mood and more importantly the results would be the best possible job application. Former players Martin Johnson and Clive Woodward are also likely to come into the frame.
Whoever the board chooses, they cannot afford to get it wrong, with Leicester’s wait for a Premiership title now stretching five years.
“As a club, Leicester Tigers will always aspire to challenge for major honours in the incredibly competitive arena of professional elite club rugby and everyone at the club will fully support Geordan and the management group in driving the team forward,” Tom said.
“Geordan knows the expectations and ambitions of the Tigers as well as anyone after more than 20 years here as player and coach, and we wish him and the team the very best for the challenges ahead.”