The Leicester director of rugby, Richard Cockerill, has hit back at the prominent ex-players who have criticised the club’s record under him this season. If they beat Northampton this weekend the Tigers will qualify for the play-offs for the 11th successive year and Cockerill has taken issue with pundits such as Austin Healey, who has suggested Leicester are “stagnating” and have “deep-rooted problems”.
Buoyed by last Saturday’s crucial victory over Wasps, Cockerill believes his critics do not fully appreciate how hard it is for coaches to keep winning consistently. “The reality is they’ve never done it,” said Cockerill, referring to ex-teammates such as Healey, Neil Back and Lewis Moody. “I’m doing it, I’ve done it, I’ve won competitions. They’re far better players than I ever was but they don’t understand the dynamics of how it works.
“I understand they are high profile in the game and their opinions are sought but for me it’s about having a measured view. I have played with guys like Austin, Neil and Lewis and we lost some big games, played poorly and got beaten in finals. It is not as if they never lost a game of rugby. It happens.
“I don’t mind being criticised but the personal attack is the thing I dislike. Criticise or offer a constructive view, fine. One day they’ll have their opportunity. Or not.”
Cockerill, who displayed visible emotion at the final whistle on Saturday, also feels the pressure on coaches generally – and Leicester in particular – has never been as intense. “I think it’s more extreme. My record as a coach is very good if you look at the hard facts. But lose three on the trot and people question whether I should be in the job. I don’t know if there are any other clubs in the Premiership where that question would get asked.
“There’s no doubting I’ve been under pressure this year for results. I don’t know about under pressure for my job but one normally equates with the other. There’s no point pretending it’s not a fickle environment, that’s just how it is. I had a lot more friends on Saturday evening at six o’clock than I did on Friday at six o’clock. But the landscape of the game is changing every quarter. If you’ve got a lot of money you can turn a team around very quickly.”
Cockerill, who expects the lock Geoff Parling to recover from sore ribs and feature against Northampton, also remains adamant that the Tigers could still be serious play-off contenders. “We still think we’re good enough to try and win the competition. How realistic that is we’ll see. We’ve got to get it right this weekend first because it could still go horribly, horribly wrong.”
The Tigers lock Brad Thorn, meanwhile, has accepted a coaching role with Queensland’s development squad. The 40-year-old former All Black has confirmed he will be ending his 22-year professional playing career this summer.
