'I didn't need to walk in that changing room and flip over a table'
Rookie Leicester boss Richard Wigglesworth has revealed he didn't lose the rag with his Tigers players when he entered the AJ Bell dressing room following last Friday’s 5-40 thrashing at Sale. The 39-year-old was recently handed the reins at Welford Road following the mid-season departure of Steve Borthwick to take charge of England.
The reshuffle resulted in player/coach Wigglesworth immediately retiring as a player and agreeing to become the interim head coach until the end of the current season. His maiden outing as boss went well, Leicester defeating Gloucester 28-13 on Christmas Eve with an impressive second-half comeback.
However, things went awry in Wigglesworth’s first away game in charge, the Tigers fading badly in the second period in Manchester to meekly lose by 35 points. For someone who was usually an emotional guy as a player, the situation at Sale seemed readymade for some hairdryer treatment to be meted out, but the new boss assured that this wasn’t the case as he has no intention of becoming a fist-pumping coach.
“There were a few that were worried about me walking in the dressing room but I was calm enough, calm enough,” insisted Wigglesworth at his media briefing ahead of this Saturday’s Leicester trip to Newcastle.
“I have been in changing rooms where you have been badly beaten and sometimes had a rocket and sometimes not. Has it affected what you have done the next week? Not so much… I have been in plenty of them and I didn’t need to walk into that changing room and flip over a table for them to know that we got some things wrong.
“As a character, you would describe me as emotional. You know I am there, you know I’m around, I’d quite loud, but I’d like to think I have been in the game long enough and have had enough first-pumping coaches at different points to know that’s not what you want to do. That will not get the job done over a long period of time. Yes, I want to be calm and considerate but I want to be really authentic, to be myself with skill so I am going to try and upskill myself as much as possible.”
Having enjoyed a stellar 20-year playing career for Sale, Saracens, Leicester and England, Wigglesworth has encountered a plethora of coaches who have moulded him but he refused to single out any particular influence for fear that his other coaches might take offence.
“I have thought about this a lot: I have had so many good ones that if I name them I will feel like I am missing guys out because the people that I played under, their record speaks for themselves. So I have learned a load from when I first went to Sale to the brilliant coaches I had at Saracens to working under Steve.
"The reason I came to Leicester was Steve because I met him and he was like this guy I’d worked with at England - I knew he was good and got more than I bargained for. So I have been able to work under and for some elite coaches at club and international level.
"I have tried to take, steal and borrow all the best bits from them guys but it is me now standing in front of the players, it’s me trying to be the best coach I can be. It’s just trying to take the best learnings I can from them.”
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No he's just limited in what he can do. Like Scott Robertson. And Eddie Jones.
Sometimes it doesn't work out so you have to go looking for another national coach who supports his country and believes in what he is doing. Like NZ replacing Ian Foster. And South Africa bringing Erasmus back in to over see Neinbar.
This is the real world. Not the fantasy oh you don't need passion for your country for international rugby. Ask a kiwi, or a south african or a frenchman.
Go to commentsDont complain too much or start jumping to conclusions.
Here in NZ commentators have been blabbing that our bottom pathway competition the NPC (provincial teams only like Taranaki, Wellington etc)is not fit for purpose ie supplying players to Super rugby level then they started blabbing that our Super Rugby comp (combined provincial unions making up, Crusaders, Hurricanes, etc) wasn't good enough without the South African teams and for the style SA and the northern powers play at test level.
Here is what I reckon, Our comps are good enough for how WE want to play rugby not how Ireland, SA, England etc play. Our comps are high tempo, more rucks, mauls, running plays, kicks in play, returns, in a game than most YES alot of repetition but that builds attacking skillsets and mindsets. I don't want to see world teams all play the same they all have their own identity and style as do England (we were scared with all this kind of talk when they came here) World powerhouse for a reason, losses this year have been by the tiniest of margins and could have gone either way in alot of games. Built around forward power and blitz defence they have got a great attack Wingers are chosen for their Xfactor now not can they chase up and unders all day. Stick to your guns its not far off
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