Tigers boss Murphy faces RFU disciplinary hearing

Leicester Tigers head coach Geordan Murphy will appear before an independent disciplinary panel on Wednesday, May 29, after being charged with conduct prejudicial to the interests of the union and the game contrary to RFU Rule 5.12.

Murphy is alleged to have verbally abused a match official following the Leicester Tigers match against Bath last Saturday.

The Tigers coach will face two charges. The first charge relates to verbal abuse of a match official and in the alternative for failure to respect the authority of a match official, contrary to Law 9.28. The second charge is for failure to respect the authority of match officials, contrary to Law 9.28.

The hearing will take place in London and by chaired by Jeremy Summers, the sole judicial officer.

Murphy’s appearance comes at the end of a difficult first season in charge of Leicester who finished in 11th in the Gallagher Premiership, the lowest spot in the club’s history.

He was unexpectedly thrown into the role in September following the September sacking of Matt O’Connor, would have felt Leicester had a strong enough squad to steer clear of the basement battle and while many felt Leicester had a squad capable of steering well clear of the basement battle, that wasn’t the case.

Prior to an April 6 loss to Exeter before their top flight survival was eventually secured, the rookie head coach said about losing: “It makes me feel horrific. It’s the toughest thing I have ever experienced in my life. It’s not pretty.

“For someone like myself, and the other coaches in the room, we’re dedicating our lives to it. It isn’t something we do on a Tuesday and Thursday and walk away from it.

“This is our lives so it affects our home lives, our family lives, our personal lives. We don’t sleep. We worry. It’s a sport but it means so much to all the people involved. It is tough. We have been under pressure all season. We have not performed anywhere near as well as we could.”

WATCH: Part six of The Academy, the RugbyPass documentary on the Leicester Tigers