We must follow Leicester City’s template, says Tigers chairman

New ownership key to bringing back glory after ‘brutal’ season, Peter Tom tells Mick Cleary

The decision to put Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60million was triggered by chairman Peter Tom’s recognition that “rugby as we know it will be very different in five or 10 years’ time” because of cross-hemisphere events. One of Europe’s most distinguished clubs have gone to the market place in an attempt to restore the team to former glories, although Tom insists that they will “not sell the club’s soul”.

Tigers have taken note of the manner in which their footballing neighbours, Leicester City, have achieved success by securing empathetic ownership from overseas yet still retaining links in the community. It is a template Tom wants to follow after the team finished 11th in the Gallagher Premiership last season in a campaign that had, he said, been “horrible, brutal and very painful”.

The move towards attracting new money into the bestsupported club in the land had its roots in the arrival on the scene of private equity firm CVC Capital Partners’ 27 per cent stake in Premier Rugby, a development that opened the eyes of the board to the value of the game.

“Rugby is at the point that cricket found itself 10 or so years ago prior to the Indian Premier League and all the difference that has made to the sport,” said Tom.

“There were a lot of other conversations going on around the time of the CVC deal with private individuals and institutions wanting to get involved in the business.

“There is interest, there is finance and we decided that Leicester had to be to the fore in any change. Rugby will look very different in five to 10 years’ time.

“We’ve had approaches about staging games in the United States. There have been talks, too, about South Africa getting involved in competitions in Europe, Argentina also. We have set up coaching courses in Asia, the World Cup is in Japan and analysis shows that rugby is the fastest growing male sport in the US. The unions are getting serious corporate advice about what they should do going forward. There is no doubt that we are going to see much more world-focused competitions rather than nation-focused.”

The key for Leicester supporters is assurance that their team might be involved in those tournaments, given their parlous position at the end of the season, flirting with relegation for the first time in the professional era. Pat Howard, former Wallaby fly-half and Tigers director of rugby as well as former general manager for Cricket Australia, was commissioned for a wide-ranging review of the set-up.

“Pat made 50 recommendations, of which the board has approved 49 for immediate implementation, with the other one more for the medium term,” said chief executive Simon Cohen. “Pat will also mentor [head coach] Geordan Murphy to accelerate his learning process.

“We have been down the road of sacking coaches and it hasn’t worked. Pat’s way is to put trust in people and develop your own. Of course, a new owner can do what they want. But if this works, then why mess with that stability, and if it doesn’t, we will have to look to effect change no matter what the ownership of the club is. It is about having the right processes.”

Leicester have beefed up their off-field rugby operations with the appointment of Jan Mcginty to deal with agents, while Ged Glynn concentrates on talent identification. Tom believes they neglected their academy roots that spawned the likes of Martin Johnson but “that conveyor belt is back”.

The training complex at Oval Park has been revamped, with an artificial pitch installed as well as a dome. Leicester fans used to be known as a conservative lot, once railing against the decision in the wake of professionalism to dispense with the Tigers tradition of having letters on their shirts rather than numbers. Those times have passed, and for an obvious reason. “When you finish 11th, supporters want change,” as Cohen put it. But not at any cost.

“The board has to make sure that whoever might come forward has to uphold the values of the club,” said Tom. “We haven’t had discussions with Leicester City but their way is a template. I got fearful stick when we introduced our first change of kit many years ago. Now I get complaints that people can’t get hold of the new one.”

Cohen said: “Leicester is a working-class city and it is not in a new owner’s interest to whack up prices as fewer people will come and revenues will drop. What I do see is rugby following other football patterns such as a transfer market becoming more prevalent, with players moving between clubs. Leicester need the financial wherewithal to be able to move quickly in that regard. The salary cap must stay, too, as the game has to control its costs if it is to grow. If there is one concerning issue for the game round the world it is the cost of players.”

Leicester’s struggles last season may have made for grisly headlines but it also reflected a Premiership that has become even more competitive. Leicester had to act. “We have faced up to the mistakes we have made,” said Tom, who has set a six-month timeline on making a decision on the future ownership of the club which is a hybrid plc with shares spread between himself (9 per cent), businessman Tom Scott (46 per cent), supporters (35 per cent) and others.

“Have we put ourselves in a better place with all the initiatives? Yes, we have. Getting it right on the field is what it is all about.”