Austin Healey believes the relentless energy of Steve Borthwick that delivered him to success with England at Test level could be a hindrance to Leicester and a youth-inspired renaissance akin to that of Wasps and Gloucester this year from taking root at Welford Road.
Geordan Murphy followed Dai Young and David Humphreys in losing their director of rugby roles in 2020, as Leicester became the latest club to join the trend of a unilateral head coach.
And for Healey, creator and scorer of decisive tries which clinched Tigers successive Heineken Cup triumphs over Stade Francais and Munster in 2001 and 2002, whether the switch from Murphy pays off hinges on Borthwick’s own adjustment from the elite at England to a situation steeped in complexities at Leicester.
“My main concern is Borthwick. The fact that he is non-stop and is go, go, go. He has an energy for the sport that is unrivalled,” Healey told The Rugby Paper.
“He is what we would term a ‘rugby nause’, he just loves the game so much, but you need breaks when you are at a club and you are an international. It is full on at the moment when you get to Pennyhill Park or The Lensbury all the way to the game and even if you have a Thursday off you still don’t take your foot off the accelerator.
“When you are at a club there is so much that goes on that sometimes you just need to chill the hell out and let players develop and becomes themselves, and not try to force them.”
Gloucester’s arrival at Welford Road for the opening round of the new Premiership season came with academy graduates such as Henry Walker, Lloyd Evans and Tom Seabrook all in tow.
For Leicester, while full-back Freddie Steward stands as a beacon of hope for the Tigers academy, 17 of their 18 summer signings all played outside of the Premiership last season.
Leicester have claimed the Premiership U18s League title the previous two years and shared the trophy with London Irish in February after a 22-22 draw in their third-straight final. So, is there a roadblock between academy and the first team?
“Leicester’s academy has done very well over the last five years among other Premiership academies,” Healey said, “so you would expect these guys to step up and sit there in the changing room at Oval Park as they are about to go out and train and ask themselves the question of whether they are happy just being in the first team. If they are happy to just be in the first team they should pack their bags and go be a bricklayer for a living – go get another job.
“Leicester’s success or lack thereof will derive from the ability of their young academy players to come through and make a name for themselves.
“We have seen that happen at Saracens and Leicester have been sticking plasters to their squad for far too long, and now they really need to rely on their academy as their bedrock.
“I like Freddie Steward at the back, he is a very good player. Ben White has the potential to be England’s next No.9 and take the jersey off Ben Youngs at club and international level. George Worth is another back who really needs to kick on this year or become a bricklayer – no disrespect to all bricklayers out there because I’m sure it is not an easy job.
“You have got to have aspirations to play for Leicester Tigers and to be the best player in the world – if they haven’t, go play somewhere else.
“This coming season with the squad Leicester have got, where they are starting their season compared to where other squads are is undoubtedly their hardest season. You never used to sit in an Oval Park changing room at Leicester and think you could never win the game if you wanted to.
“You would have weeks off and plan for games cyclically over a month-long period and ultimately you would set out your plans, saying what are we going to win this year? ‘We are going to win the European Cup and we are going to win the Premiership’ and you could look around the room into peoples’ eyes and know that you were going to do it.
“You look round the room now and they say, ‘we want to stay up’, you might not see that same belief and that is a very scary scenario.
“What are their aspirations for this year? To qualify for Europe? Wow, well done.”
The exit of club legend Geordan Murphy one week before the new season’s kick bared little surprise to Healey, who made 147 appearances in his time at Tigers, but suggested a marriage ideal for Murphy and a certain Premiership club.
“Surprised? No, I thought it was on the cards,” Healey expressed of Murphy’s departure. “I thought some of the rhetoric coming out of the club from other senior coaches painted a picture of how isolated he was.
“Not many coaches have been through the mire that he has had to go through, and I think that will hold him with experiences in very good stead for a number of teams.
“I think he would work well at Sale because he and Steve Diamond would get on well given the subtlety Geordan brings to the attack game.
“I think that is the one thing missing from Sale. They have got great power, great players, a real energy and collective spirit. The backline is starting to take a bit more shape but maybe it just needs a little subtlety and disguise, a slightly different skillset to the one they have currently.”
BT Sport is broadcasting all Gallagher Premiership Rugby matches played behind closed doors in the 2020/21 season. Watch London Irish v Leicester Tigers on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate at 4.15pm
