Inside Project Tigers

Forum to discuss everything that is Tigers related

Moderators: Tigerbeat, Rizzo, Tigers Press Office, Tigers Webmaster

Post Reply
sapajo
Super User
Super User
Posts: 6054
Joined: Sat Oct 15, 2011 7:48 pm

Inside Project Tigers

Post by sapajo »

Seems very interesting so if anyone subscribes can they post it on this thread please?


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union ... borthwick/
Without hope we are nothing, keep the faith, a Tiger for eternity
fentiger
Super User
Super User
Posts: 3193
Joined: Sun May 03, 2009 6:32 pm
Location: Down Under

Re: Inside Project Tigers

Post by fentiger »

The hustle and bustle inside the Leicester Tigers’ training facility on the south-eastern outskirts of the city this week still bristled with what resembled a heady mix of pre-season optimism and a touch of chaos, even as Steve Borthwick’s first full season in charge of Leicester Tigers draws to a close.

Preparations for the club’s final Premiership game of the season against Wasps on Saturday - with a place in next season’s Heineken Champions Cup on the line - have taken place amid a backdrop of ongoing major renovation work at the club’s Oval Park training ground.

Chairs are stacked up as rooms are reconfigured and redecorated, key messages are scribbled on white boards and impromptu meetings are sometimes held in corridors.

Even the club’s impressive new chief executive, Andrea Pinchen, does not appear phased by having to set up a makeshift workstation where she can, having opted to spend most of the season at the squad’s base rather than at her official office at Welford Road.

Change is in the air, and in every sense.

The much-need renovations, which began at the end of last season after the first easing of the lockdown restrictions, are not just about improving the facilities. They are also symbolic of the radical overhaul of the club being implemented by Borthwick, with the full-backing of Pinchen.

The hierarchical days when Leicester’s experienced players - either internationals and/or had children while playing for the club - had their own changing room while the rest were left knowing they had yet to earn their spurs, are long gone.

The new changing rooms are for everyone. Inclusivity has replaced hierarchy as the Tigers’ watchword.

This one-for-all mindset is a key tenet of ‘Project Tigers’, the name of Borthwick’s mission statement for the daunting task of rebuilding the status of England’s most successful club, who only avoided relegation last season because of Saracens’ demotion due to salary-cap breaches.

“When I first started here, and I was the ticket sales manager, you'd have your Martin Johnsons and your Lewis Moodys coming into the ticket office,” said Pinchen, speaking from a small room shared by two other colleagues. “It was really archaic when I took over - they had to stand on the other side of the glass partition and only the manager of the ticket office could serve them.

Andrea Pinchen became Leicester chief executive last year
“I didn't get why I would treat them any differently. They'd be standing in the ticket office waiting while we're on the phone and if the phones were ringing off the wall, I would be thinking: ‘If someone wants to buy a ticket, just pick the b----- phone up.’

“That's how I've always been. We want everybody here to be a part of what we're trying to achieve. It does sound twee but whether you are George Ford or somebody in the ticket office, you are equally important to what we are trying to do.”

The redesigned offices have also integrated the coaching staff to the heart of the operation, having previously been based in separate buildings, while every member of staff is invited to attend the weekly team meeting to underscore the sense of collective spirit.

And Pinchen sees Borthwick as the embodiment of Leicester’s version of ‘levelling up’ through his work ethic, attention to detail and analytical preparation as he attempts to overhaul the mindset and culture of the club, which is not dissimilar to the size of the task that once faced Sir Alex Ferguson in attempting to lift Manchester United out of the doldrums in the late 1980s.

His commitment to the project was the main reason behind his decision to turn down a potential offer from Warren Gatland to join the British and Irish Lions coaching team for the tour of South Africa this summer, despite describing his experience on the tour of New Zealand as one of his greatest experiences of his career.

“It was an absolute privilege to have had the conversation with Gats but my primary responsibility is here and I know we've got an awful lot of work to do,” said Borthwick. “I can’t miss a day, I can’t take a day off.

“That’s the responsibility that I have and our supporters demand that quite rightly. We need to continue to push and make improvements each day, we've got a lot of catching up to do on the other teams.”

When Borthwick first took charge 11 months ago, after stepping down from his key role as Eddie Jones’ right-hand man with England, he gave a presentation to the squad using a simple variation of the Kubler-Ross change curve to illustrate the extent of the rebuilding that was required after the 10-times champions managed to accumulate just 29 points last season.

“At the start of the season I gave a presentation to the players based on his U-curve of how a business declines, plateaus and then rises again,” said Borthwick.

“I pointed to the downslope of the curve and told the players: ‘We are somewhere here. I don’t know if we are still coming down this year but our job is to get to the plateau and start rising again rapidly.

“How steep the curve is will be based upon two things - how hard we work and how quickly we learn.”

The foundation stones of Borthwick's project are rooted in Leicester’s proud past
Now, victory against Wasps on Saturday would secure sixth place in the Premiership table. And having also reached the final of the European Challenge Cup, where they narrowly lost to Montpellier, it appears that Leicester have already begun their ascendency. Project Tigers appears to be taking shape.

The levelling-up process also included opening the door of opportunity to the bright young guns, mostly from Leicester’s academy, in an attempt to kickstart a once prolific production line that had stalled in recent years, with the likes of Freddie Steward, George Martin, Jack van Poortvliet, Dan Kelly, Ollie Chessum, Cameron Henderson and James Whitcombe shining examples this season.

Yet while he looks firmly to the future, the foundation stones of the project are rooted in Leicester’s proud past.

The first step forward this season has been to improve the players’ fitness, reaffirming their pride in the jersey and reasserting the physical menace that defined the great Leicester sides of yesteryear.

He has found willing foot soldiers in that regard from the likes of Ellis Genge, Harry Wells and Jasper Wiese.

How Steve Borthwick has inspired Leicester Tigers' revival
“When I was always an opposing player at Welford Road, you might win or you might lose, but it was always tough,” Borthwick added. “Why was it tough? Because they were fit, they were incredibly hard-working and you could tell that playing for Leicester Tigers meant an awful lot to them.

“I want a team that has that. We have moved somewhere towards that but we are not there yet.”

Connected to that is the club's relationship with their supporters. Borthwick still remembers the afternoon in September 2011 when he featured in a Saracens side that put 50 points on Leicester at Welford Road, with his abiding memory seeing the home crowd still cheering for their team at the death, despite the record defeat.

“They weren’t cheering because of the result but because they really cared for their team and I thought: ‘That is success’.

“The supporters want to see a team that is hard-working, honest and that cares. I think that's the base of a good team. That is our commitment to them.”
:smt023
sapajo
Super User
Super User
Posts: 6054
Joined: Sat Oct 15, 2011 7:48 pm

Re: Inside Project Tigers

Post by sapajo »

Thank you :smt023
Without hope we are nothing, keep the faith, a Tiger for eternity
fentiger
Super User
Super User
Posts: 3193
Joined: Sun May 03, 2009 6:32 pm
Location: Down Under

Re: Inside Project Tigers

Post by fentiger »

sapajo wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 10:03 pm Thank you :smt023
Good article, isn't it?
sam16111986
Super User
Super User
Posts: 7057
Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2008 6:27 pm
Location: Shepshed

Re: Inside Project Tigers

Post by sam16111986 »

Andrea and Steve seem to be doing a good job turning us round. Can't wait for next season.

Thanks for sharing the article.
sapajo
Super User
Super User
Posts: 6054
Joined: Sat Oct 15, 2011 7:48 pm

Re: Inside Project Tigers

Post by sapajo »

fentiger wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 10:08 pm
sapajo wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 10:03 pm Thank you :smt023
Good article, isn't it?
Yes I thought that from what I could read so hence my post. Thanks
Without hope we are nothing, keep the faith, a Tiger for eternity
Hot_Charlie
Super User
Super User
Posts: 4041
Joined: Thu Apr 07, 2005 9:30 pm
Location: Lincoln

Re: Inside Project Tigers

Post by Hot_Charlie »

fentiger wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 10:08 pm
sapajo wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 10:03 pm Thank you :smt023
Good article, isn't it?
Aye. From Gavin Mairs. Charlie Morgan wrote a fairly glowing match report yesterday in The Telegraph too.
TigerCam
Super User
Super User
Posts: 3911
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2004 5:41 pm
Location: Cambridge

Re: Inside Project Tigers

Post by TigerCam »

fentiger wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 10:08 pm
sapajo wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 10:03 pm Thank you :smt023
Good article, isn't it?
Thank you. It confirms my hopes and expectations for next season.
Whoever said "one person cannot change the world' never ate undercooked bat
kk20gb30
Super User
Super User
Posts: 2887
Joined: Sun Jan 22, 2017 1:01 pm
Location: Over The Hills & Far Away

Re: Inside Project Tigers

Post by kk20gb30 »

Many thanks for posting this.A very interesting read.
Seemingly heading rapidly toward senility .....Not long or far to go now , in fact, getting worse daily.....
fentiger
Super User
Super User
Posts: 3193
Joined: Sun May 03, 2009 6:32 pm
Location: Down Under

Re: Inside Project Tigers

Post by fentiger »

Here's Charlie Morgan's report on the match:

Wasps 31 Leicester Tigers 38
If there was any doubt left, the Leicester Tigers turn-around is for real. Just nine months and three days after being thrashed 54-7 at the same venue, Steve Borthwick’s side celebrated their qualification for next season’s European Champions Cup by outlasting Wasps to win an entertaining contest in Coventry.

Whereas last September’s midweek humiliation suggested that Borthwick had inherited a club with further to sink, this victory encouraged the happier question of how high – and how quickly – Tigers may rise. After a sixth-place finish in 2020-21, a play-off berth must be an outside possibility next year.

“It was a pretty sobering event, that Wednesday night,” said Borthwick of his last visit to the Ricoh Arena. “It showed where we’ve been. But I think sometimes you have to go through that pain to learn. I don’t want to go through that experience again.”

Borthwick has promoted promising youngsters and re-established tactical clarity for Leicester. Fittingly, then, Tigers’ cubs excelled. George Martin, the youngest member of England’s 34-man training squad, grafted to a stand-still. Fellow 19-year-old Dan Kelly, also in Eddie Jones’ summer plans, impressed as well.

Not to be outdone by fresher-faced colleagues, veteran Dan Cole was one of Leicester’s five try-scorers with Cameron Henderson, Matt Scott, Julian Montoya and Tomas Lavanini also crossing the whitewash. Johnny McPhillips, faultless from the tee, kicked 13 points.

Wasps certainly played their part on a compelling afternoon in bright sunshine, eventually netting two bonus points to qualify for the Champions Cup themselves. Indeed, they opened the scoring through Sione Vailanu’s pick-and-go.

Robust counter-rucking from Cole derailed another promising Wasps foray, and proved to stir Leicester. Nemani Nadolo chased Zack Henry’s up-and-under and forced a turnover before Kelly danced past two defenders on the back of a messy scrum. His offload was gathered skilfully by a stooping Cameron Henderson, who stretched over to score.

All in all, 10 members of the 34-man England training squad were on show.¬¬ The next to catch the eye was the youngest. Martin slipped out of Kieran Brookes’ tackle after the restart and loped up-field before offloading to Johnny McPhillips. Again, a Tigers scrum produced the telling platform. With the thundering Nadolo used as a decoy, McPhillips released a slicing Scott.

It felt perverse, and emblematic of conflicting recruitment strategies prior to Borthwick’s arrival at Welford Road, that two members of Leicester’s backline – both specialist fly-halves, to boot – had announced their respective departures earlier in the week.

Both are heading to France, McPhillips trading the East Midlands for Carcassonne and Henry joining Pau. The latter, lively and resourceful over his short stint as a Leicester player, started at full-back with Freddie Steward shifting to the right wing. Meanwhile, five of Wasps’ pack, including the entire front row, were playing their final games for the hosts.

Umaga, the sole fly-half in England’s latest squad, tied up proceedings on the half-hour mark. He gathered a cute grubber from Marcus Watson out wide and beat Leicester’s cover defence in a race for the whitewash. Leicester would respond, though.

First Robson crept offside from a Tigers scrum, allowing McPhillips to slot three from the tee. Next, the Leicester maul rumbled close. Cole trundled off the tail and wriggled across the grass. Television match official Tom Foley and referee Luke Pearce were satisfied that the tighthead prop had registered his first club try in six years. Although McPhillips’s conversion earned an extra two, Wasps hit back immediately.

Josh Bassett, another of Jones’ call-ups, recovered the restart and Worcester-bound Vailanu ripped through the Leicester midfield. Wasps might have been frustrated to not be ahead at half-time, too. Umaga punted across the Tigers 22 towards Watson from a late penalty, but it was under-hit and Nadolo gathered.

The scoring spree continued when the players re-emerged. Jack van Poortvliet, who will play for England Under-20 rather than the seniors this summer, enjoyed a compelling tussle with Robson. Five minutes into the second half, he sniped around the fringe of a ruck, slipped through two tackles and offloaded to hooker Julian Montoya.

Tigers had a bonus point. Typically, on a tit-for-tat afternoon, Wasps promptly bagged one of their own. Will Rowlands, moving to Dragons over the summer, cut an angle off Umaga’s shoulder and strode 25 metres to the try-line.

As the final quarter began, Henry was sin-binned after inadvertently flipping Watson in a tackle. Wasps sensed blood but Kini Murimurivalu, on for Nadolo, swooped to steal in the shadow of his own posts. Before Leicester were restored to 15 men, Steward hacked through a loose ball and Matias Moroni’s tackle on Jimmy Gopperth eked out a five-metre scrum. A penalty followed and Tomas Lavanini scored from close range.

Wasps remained expansive and worked up pitch in the final exchanges. That field position allowed Umaga to salvage a second bonus point with a penalty. Borthwick and his team had done enough, though. And, as Eddie Jones has suggested, a strong Leicester would bode well for England.
JP14
Super User
Super User
Posts: 7484
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:37 am

Re: Inside Project Tigers

Post by JP14 »

Thanks for sharing both articles :smt023.
Formerly of Burbaaage (not Inkleh), now up north at uni
Post Reply