Cockers on the move!!

Forum to discuss everything that is Tigers related

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

Dangerous4
Gold Member
Gold Member
Posts: 1359
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2018 5:15 pm
Location: High Wycombe, Bucks.

Re: Cockers on the move!!

Post by Dangerous4 »

He has done a brilliant job at Edinburgh. No question about it.
Tigerbeat
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 7250
Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2007 9:14 pm
Location: The big wide world

Re: Cockers on the move!!

Post by Tigerbeat »

From BBC

"Edinburgh fans will need no reminding of what life was like pre-Richard Cockerill. To call it dismal wouldn't even scratch the surface.

Cockerill was a human coaching dynamo, a guy who obliterated the lazy attitudes in the camp and brought a harder edge. He improved a huge amount of players on his watch, even if they became a nearly team on all fronts. They were good, but on the biggest days, not quite good enough. Then Covid hit and things started to go badly wrong.

The coach had to get by without his international players (all locked away in Gregor Townsend's Test bubble), a battalion of experience he could not replace. Results went south and angst grew. Tensions rose. Monied clubs hovered. Big name players announced that they were leaving for pastures new. The club had hit the wall.

The SRU does not have the money to find a heavy hitter to replace Cockerill. The chances are that they will do what they did when Dave Rennie exited Glasgow and promote from within. At Glasgow it was Danny Wilson. At Edinburgh, it might well be Mike Blair. That could be a smart play in increasingly difficult times for the club."
SUPPORT THE MATT HAMPSON TRUST
www.matthampson.co.uk
TigerFeetSteve
Super User
Super User
Posts: 7420
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 6:23 am

Re: Cockers on the move!!

Post by TigerFeetSteve »

Given where we are in the contract cycle I think something must have kicked off some promise given not met or something. I think it will be tricky to find an opening as high a profile as he would like.

Can't really see one in the UK as things stand so it will be interesting to see where he end that's for sure
Used to run around with an 11, 14 or 15 on my back.
JP14
Super User
Super User
Posts: 7484
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:37 am

Re: Cockers on the move!!

Post by JP14 »

I mean there’s always the new Tigers women’s team…
Formerly of Burbaaage (not Inkleh), now up north at uni
Ian Cant
Gold Member
Gold Member
Posts: 1909
Joined: Sun May 08, 2005 10:51 am

Re: Cockers on the move!!

Post by Ian Cant »

Richard Cockerill turned an absolutely woeful Edinburgh team into a very competitive one then over last 2 seasons quite a few of the team became regular members of the Scotland squad but the club didn’t have the funds to invest in a deep squad.
When I was in Edinburgh for a concert I2 years ago I sat with some Edinburgh rugby fans, discussed rugby with them and in one of the pubs and the fans were full of praise for Richard and the way he was trying to build the club up from the youth/ schools set up upwards.
Their fear was there was little financial backing in the club.
Good luck Richard in your next venture. Top bloke who was always great with the Tigers’ away fans as a player and coach.
TigerCam
Super User
Super User
Posts: 3911
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2004 5:41 pm
Location: Cambridge

Re: Cockers on the move!!

Post by TigerCam »

TigerFeetSteve wrote: Mon Jul 19, 2021 4:23 pm Given where we are in the contract cycle I think something must have kicked off some promise given not met or something. I think it will be tricky to find an opening as high a profile as he would like.

Can't really see one in the UK as things stand so it will be interesting to see where he end that's for sure
I think somewhere in France will suit Cockers. A few years ago in Clermont he told me he really likes it there - so maybe. Nothing for him at Tigers with the new era under way. I think the Tigers have made the jump moved on from the old ways of doing things. I hope so? Did I see that Westie was leaving Sale? Maybe he could team up with Sanderson?
Whoever said "one person cannot change the world' never ate undercooked bat
kpj tiger
Super User
Super User
Posts: 5281
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2011 2:57 pm
Location: Stoney Stanton

Re: Cockers on the move!!

Post by kpj tiger »

Can't see Cockers wanting to work under somebody, France seems like the obvious destination but I'm not sure which club, perhaps one of the newly promoted teams ?
kk20gb30
Super User
Super User
Posts: 2887
Joined: Sun Jan 22, 2017 1:01 pm
Location: Over The Hills & Far Away

Re: Cockers on the move!!

Post by kk20gb30 »

Wish him well where ever he resurfaces.
Considering where Edinburgh were when he arrived and where he left them overall he did do a fine job - though it must be said that last season progress did stall to regression.All told though massive initial impact and emerges with credit.
Seemingly heading rapidly toward senility .....Not long or far to go now , in fact, getting worse daily.....
kk20gb30
Super User
Super User
Posts: 2887
Joined: Sun Jan 22, 2017 1:01 pm
Location: Over The Hills & Far Away

Re: Cockers on the move!!

Post by kk20gb30 »

Mike Blair possible successor to Richard Cockerill at Edinburgh :

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/rugby-un ... er-3314348
Seemingly heading rapidly toward senility .....Not long or far to go now , in fact, getting worse daily.....
DingDong
Bronze Member
Bronze Member
Posts: 463
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2018 10:06 am

Re: Cockers on the move!!

Post by DingDong »

According to John Barclay in The Times: ‘Cockers was an agent of positive change at the start, but he was a malign presence thereafter’. Not a positive read for Cockers!
RagingBull
Super User
Super User
Posts: 13211
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 12:54 pm

Re: Cockers on the move!!

Post by RagingBull »

that Barclays interview reads somewhat as a player who thought himself as better than the coach.

This stood out.
“Edinburgh’s record in knockout games under Cockers was terrible” as opposed to all there knockout games without Cockerill. Barclays said Cockerill
Literally reads the same way our players did when cockers left.

“ The environment he created did not allow players to read a situation, take a game by the scruff of the neck, make bold and brave decisions and drive a team on”
Clearly worked for Leicester Tigers players.

The thing is will Edinburgh spend the money on getting a top coach? Edinburgh for me are a mid table squad with a world class back row, 2 of which are missing for internationals.
I don’t see how they can compete with the Irish sides come end of season.


It’s telling that both Leicester and Edinburgh ended the same way, but Tigers post Cockers was terrible till we brought in basically a more modern and less emotional I guess version of him.
biffer
Gold Member
Gold Member
Posts: 1597
Joined: Thu Sep 15, 2011 4:35 pm

Re: Cockers on the move!!

Post by biffer »

Heard all sorts of rumours over and above the Barclay article that he'd lost the dressing room. Similar to the complaints towards the end of his time at Leicester; rigid gameplan, not much in attack, no development of young players.
DeadlyDunc
Gold Member
Gold Member
Posts: 856
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2017 12:05 pm

Re: Cockers on the move!!

Post by DeadlyDunc »

So not such a brilliant job then?

As I was saying….
johnthegriff
Super User
Super User
Posts: 2013
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 12:37 am

Re: Cockers on the move!!

Post by johnthegriff »

When with us Cocker was an integral part of the success under Pat Howard, he took over as the main man when our team was at a low ebb and just not performing, he with the help of Matt O'Connor improved our results we moved up the table and won the Premiership also getting to the Heineken Cup Final that year losing in my opinion only due to injuries. Subsequent years saw annual trips to Twickenham with a fair share of victories, many young players were given opportunities in the first team and some held onto the position others were unable to displace the incumbent few of those that moved on became established internationals or even Premiership players.
Cocker is a shouty man but he is more than that, he has a great belief in a work ethic and I believe is intolerant of those that he feels are not giving 100%. When he arrived at Toulon there was an immediate improvement in performance, the same was evident when he arrived in Edinburgh, the last season was badly affected by the pandemic, and by Scottish international players being isolated away from their clubs, hardly helping results. Budget cuts and restrictions would also have had a detrimental affect on the war forward for Edinburgh. The article by John Barclay to me seems to be by a bitter man who spent much of his brief time at Edinburgh on the sick list and then was disappointed when he was not offered the new contract he desired.
I believe Cocker will soon find another club and they, whoever it is will climb the table and if he has a Board of Directors that back him they will achieve success.
ads
Gold Member
Gold Member
Posts: 1512
Joined: Sat Feb 19, 2005 6:01 pm
Location: Born Leic, Live Leeds

Re: Cockers on the move!!

Post by ads »

The problem with bringing kids through is getting them game time in the first team. We've been lucky that we've had a chance to play a fair few games over the last 2 seasons where the result didn't actually matter. When this is the case it's easy to bring in younger players, get them experience and find out who 'has it'.

When the management just want results, you need to play the best team you can every game then you rely on the most experienced players you have. If you have a good core of great players, you can throw in the odd inexperienced player to gain them experience. If that core is not there for a lot of the season, it would be easy to be worried about throwing too many youngsters in if the management aren't on board. Then when the results don't come, you get raosted for not using the acedemy lads....
Post Reply