It finally feels the Tigers are going in right direction
SQUAD BUILT IN IMAGE OF BORTHWICK
STEVE Borthwick has now finalised his coaching team for the coming season. Although I suspect that internally this has been known for some time, it’s nice for the fans to have some certainty going forward.
Incremental gains have been the name of the game so far, and the latest appointments reflect that approach.
The big changes, of course, happened at the start of Borthwick’s reign, and pretty quickly.
Borthwick cemented his position with the departure of Geordan Murphy, and the addition of Aled Walters, whose input to the fitness of the squad transformed the Leicester side even before Borthwick’s legendary attention to detail and work ethic kicked in.
The two Academy coaches Matt Smith and Tom Harrison have been confirmed, and the speed with which Borthwick operates indicates that both these guys have a bright future.
Similarly, Brett Deacon has survived many a cull to the Tigers coaching ranks and must be impressive to have earned Borthwick’s trust.
We know about rugby league legend Kevin Sinfield bringing his expertise to the defensive side.
Bringing in any coach from outside the union is always a slight gamble but Sinfield’s pedigree is unquestionable – hopefully that can translate to an impenetrable defence for the Tigers in short order!
Richard Wigglesworth is the latest appointment – having joined the Tigers as a player last season, there is little surprise that the Tigers see his role as transitioning to coaching at the twilight of his long career.
The riches that Leicester have at scrum-half mean that one of his success measures has to be to ensure that Jack Van Poortfliet fulfils his incredible promise (and that he doesn’t hold up the development of the young player by blocking the first team path!) On paper, this is an exciting team, with experience, youth and new ideas coupled with concentration on the fundamentals of the game.
Of course, the game is played on grass so the paper is irrelevant. The proof of the pudding will be the performances of the squad on the pitch. However, for the first time in a long time it feels as if Leicester are heading in the right direction, and that a plan is in place.
The squad has been built in the image of the head coach and Borthwick, left, seems to have the backing required. Whilst the resources available to other clubs will eclipse that of the Tigers, they are at least back in the game.