Blast from the past back at ailing Leicester to mentor Geordan Murphy

Ex-Bath boss Mike Ford won’t be the only advisor in Geordan Murphy’s ear next season. The Leicester coach will also be tapping into the knowledge of former Tigers great Pat Howard in an effort to revive the ailing fortunes of the Welford Road club. 

Rookie head coach Murphy was handed the reins in dramatic fashion last season, taking charge on an interim basis following the sacking of Matt O’Connor following a horrible first-day defeat at Exeter. 

Despite going on to be given the job on a full-time basis over the winter, Murphy struggled to consistently improve results and they were in the throes of a Gallagher Premiership relegation battle when Ford was brought on board to help out at the end of March. 

Leicester eventually secured their Premiership status, their 11th place finish just enough to steer clear of relegated Newcastle. 

However, while Ford is staying on to continue to assist Murphy at a club that was put up for sale on Tuesday with a retail value of £60million, Mirror Sport have revealed that former boss Howard will also be helping out. 

“Pat is going to be coming in to help Geordan and help make sure the changes he proposed go through and improve things on the pitch,” said Tigers chairman Peter Tom.

“He’s going to come in a week a month to mentor Geordie. Mike Ford is staying as well. He did a great job for us towards the end of last season.”

Howard was initially involved in what was described as a hard-hitting review towards the end of last season, a campaign that went into the history books as the famed club’s worst in the professional era. 

It was 2007 when Howard guided Leicester to Premiership glory, the same season they finished beaten finalists in the Heineken European Cup. After finishing with rugby, he went on to forge a career with Cricket Australia that came to an end last year following the ball-tampering controversy.