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'Yes, we don't have the same budget as other teams but...'

(Photo by Romain Perrocheau/AFP via Getty Images)

Thriving Leicester boss Steve Borthwick has insisted it doesn’t concern him that the reduced Gallagher Premiership £5million salary cap makes it increasingly hard to compete with French and Celtic rivals, adding that he also isn’t envious of other clubs in England that have far more financial clout than the Tigers. 

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Leicester were considered a fallen giant that would take years of great patience to turn around following consecutive eleventh place finishes in the Premiership and the loss of their cherished status as a Heineken Champions Cup team. Legendary back-rower Neil Back claimed as much in an interview with RugbyPass, stating: “The time was right for Borthwick with the coaching experience he has gathered over the years – he is a good fit.

“He has come in and has made everyone at Leicester, including the supporters, be brutally honest about where they were when he came in because there was a lot of heads in the sand. He made everyone understand we are not that great team that once was, this is where we are and then he gave a vision of where he wants to be and, most importantly, how are we going to get there.

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France assistant coach Shaun Edwards joins us to discuss where the recent win over the All Blacks ranks in the list of special days he’s had as a coach, what it’s like working with Fabien Galthie, the need to win something, overcoming the language barrier, Gael Fickou’s role as defensive captain, Antoine Dupont’s freakish ability, the recent law changes and eligibility ruling and much more. Plus, we look ahead to the start of the Champions Cup this weekend and we pick our MEATER Moment of the Week…
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The Shaun Edwards factor in French rugby

France assistant coach Shaun Edwards joins us to discuss where the recent win over the All Blacks ranks in the list of special days he’s had as a coach, what it’s like working with Fabien Galthie, the need to win something, overcoming the language barrier, Gael Fickou’s role as defensive captain, Antoine Dupont’s freakish ability, the recent law changes and eligibility ruling and much more. Plus, we look ahead to the start of the Champions Cup this weekend and we pick our MEATER Moment of the Week…
Use the code FRENCHPOD10 at checkout for 10% off any full price item at Meater.com

“Now you can’t do it on your own, so he has put in the right leadership management, saying the right things and they have got a strategy to get there and he is being realistic… But it’s not going to be overnight. It’s going to be two or three years to get to a point, probably five years until we are anywhere near competing at that top table.”

However, the first full Borthwick season in charge at Leicester laid an encouraging foundation, overhauling the playing roster and strengthening the backroom staff in a campaign that resulted in a sixth-place league finish, a runners-up spot in the Challenge Cup final and qualification for this season’s Champions Cup.   

It was evidence that Leicester could potentially compete with better-resourced rivals, not only in England where the reduced salary cap has made life more difficult but also in Europe. Recent months have demonstrated this exact point, the Tigers winning their opening nine league matches to lead the table from Saracens and that form was brought into Europe last weekend with an impressive away win over Bordeaux, the big-spending Top 14 leaders who were Champions Cup semi-finals last May.

Asked about the salary cap and added challenge it creates for a club like Leicester that has been carefully watching its bottom line in recent years, Borthwick said: “I absolutely understand the question but with all respect, I actually don’t give it a second thought because I can’t do anything about it.

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“I tend to put my energy into things I can do stuff about and that [the salary cap] is nothing I can do something about. I need to coach this team as well as I can and I need to coach the team from the people who have got 112 caps like Ben (Youngs) to the players who are just coming out of the academy and all those in between – I need to coach them as well as I can and we need to be as smart as we can with the resources we have. 

“Other clubs in England have better resources than us, never mind Europe. I can’t do anything about it so I don’t spend too much time thinking about it. 

“That is a constant, how do you manage these resources as well as possible? The stance I take is these are the resources we have got, how can we maximise every little bit of it. That is the attitude I take to it. Yes, we don’t have the same budget as other teams but how do we maximise what we have got? 

“So that is a consideration in every decision we make, how do we squeeze every bit we can out of what we have got? That does factor into decisions about the academy, about how we bring players through. It factors into decisions around recruitment and retention because there is no doubt that players are offered more money to go and play elsewhere. Then it comes to how can we run the best programme possible.”

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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