By TigerR
July 20 2004

In this piece I muse on what happened to Leicester Tigers in 2003-4. At the start of the year the club was in some disarray; by the end of the season all seemed well again. Is this view oversimplified or even misleading? How much in disarray was the club anyway?

The start of 2003-4 was the best of times and the worst of times (sorry Gaz). England under the captaincy of Leicester Tiger Martin Johnson, won the World Cup.

Neil Back was an influential member of the world champion team and Martin Corry and Dorian West were there when their country needed them. However back in England the Tigers team shorn of these men was struggling in a way unknown in Leicester for decades. It was not that there were not a few successes (e.g a win over Wasps) or some encouraging individual performances (e.g. Louis Deacon and Harry Ellis) but there was loss after loss. Many matches were close but the back line had no penetration and the forwards were not as dominant as before. Ramiro Pez, a high profile and high cost signing did not settle and rarely looked the part. Josh Kronfeld played well but as captain did not seem to be the man to find the best in others; too quiet, too much of a loner.

When the world cup winners return, I thought, all will be reasonably well again, at least in the short term. However the performance of the youngsters, those seeking to break into the first team, had been a let down. After all most other clubs had also lost players to the RWC. But them I thought of the poor end to 2002-3 and was not so happy. Had the club and it’s management lost the way? Then they signed Jaco van der Westhhuyzen. This was a brilliant move, although it was not obvious to start, he made little impact from 15. We also re-signed Andy Goode. Another good move. This was definitely addressing our main problems, the backs and goal kicking.

When the world cup heroes returned, it was for the start of the Heineken Cup. Our performances improved a lot, which was just as well as the standard of the opposition was higher. The win in Gwent was most notable, our first win in years in Wales. However the loss in Paris left us needing an apparently routine home win over Stade Francais to qualify for the quarter-finals. We lost. We never looked like winning. And then it was announced that Deano had been sacked.

In many ways this appeared silly. We had come very close to qualifying for the HEC quarters from a difficult pool. On average only three English teams get to the quarter-finals. A Tigers team, undoubtedly in transition, might see the near miss as an achievement and a solid foundation for future seasons. Deano has led the club to two European championships and four English championships in his relatively short reign at Welford Road. Surely the sacking could not be justified.

But in many ways this had been coming. Our position in the league was dire. Since we were out of the cup, it would need an outstanding effort to qualify for the HEC for 2004-5. The senior management, and many fans, see Leicester’s natural position as being in the top three in England. The poor performance in league and cup in 2002-3 was further evidence that all was not well. Deano had never seemed to be very cleaver in dealing with the backs (perhaps it was never part of his brief). With Pat Howard coaching the backs all had been well but with Rod Kafer and then Andy Key in charge, things had gone rapidly downhill. It was also rumoured that Deano had not been receptive to suggestions for improvement from the likes of Neil Back and Martin Johnson. Furthermore, the club's signings in recent years could best be described as hit and miss and for that Deano must presumably take a lot of responsibility. So Deano became the scapegoat. History will debate whether he was the man to blame, but he went as he came to the job; Bob Dwyer was also asked to leave.

Who would take over? Did Peter Wheeler have a replacement lined up? Had this all been pre-meditated? The answer was no. John Wells was asked to take over part of Deano’s role and the rest was to be done by a playing committee that included John, Peter Wheeler, Martin Johnson and Neil Back. There was huge experience in this committee, experience of success. However here was a structure that was (1) against the grain (premiership sides have been going in the direction of all-powerful coaches not of democracy) and (2) clearly born of necessity. It seems to me that everyone at the club wanted not to have to ask Deano to leave. I suspect the decision had as much to do with 2002-3 as the failures of autumn 2003. In fact there were signs of improvement prior to the defeat by Stade Francais; Leicester won for the first time ever in the Heineken Cup in Wales. Was it best that Deano go? My view at the time was probably.

Peter Wheeler decided to tour the world in search of the next coach/manager. Meanwhile the results started to improve. Martin Johnson was appointed captain and he and the other returning world cup players gelled the team. John Wells and the playing committee presumably made the changes that Deano is said to have resisted, and slowly the performances improved. They went beyond the level of 2003-4; they had to. The players had worked out that they needed to win almost all of the remaining matches in the Zurich Premiership to get into the wildcard tournament. Win after win followed an away draw at Newcastle. To add to the tension, Newcastle lost to Sale upping the pressure. The other teams in the race also turned up their performances. Quins won the Parker Pen, which didn’t help. This culminated in a thrashing of champions Wasps at High Wycombe when it looked thatTigers would lose out and victory in the wildcard final over Sale whom we had failed to beat over three previous meetings.

Such a huge increase in focus by the team and the coaching staff convinced Peter Wheeler and others to choose John Wells over all international competition for the job of head coach. Pat Howard was recruited to coach the backs. The playing group remains. These decisions are hardly bold, but do focus on what the club knows to work. Such are sometimes the best and hardest of decisions. But seeking solutions from within is what Leicester have often been good at doing. It is what the club did in appointing Deano, and that worked out very well for quite a time.

Shall we see Leicester rising back to the top? The loss of Jaco van der Westhhuyzen will probably mean that a year of consolidation will follow. However, I’m willing to venture a prediction that next season we will avoid the wildcard method of qualification for the Heineken Cup. I also venture that the following year will be testing with the likes of Johnson and Back to be replaced. But I’m hopeful in the medium term that a properly focused Leicester Tigers team will once more win well, win often and win trophies.