{"id":84136,"date":"2025-05-08T08:31:20","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T08:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/84136\/"},"modified":"2025-05-08T08:31:20","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T08:31:20","slug":"inside-leicester-tigers-mass-summer-overhaul-leading-contender-for-new-head-coach-revealed-their-fly-half-wish-list-and-how-they-can-keep-michael-cheika-rugby-confidential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/84136\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Leicester Tigers’ mass summer overhaul: Leading contender for new head coach revealed, their fly-half wish list and how they can keep Michael Cheika – Rugby Confidential"},"content":{"rendered":"

The paperwork in the offices at Welford Road is piling up. Contracts have been written and ripped up. Signed and unsigned.<\/p>\n

Despite not having a head coach locked in for next season, recruitment is ongoing. General manager Richard Wilks is leading negotiations, although it is proving to be no easy task.<\/p>\n

The club are desperate to re-stock their options at No 10, with both Handre Pollard and Jamie Shillcock moving abroad at the end of the season. Efforts to sign the likes of Jack Crowley and Joe Simmonds have fallen short.<\/p>\n

George Ford<\/a> also came up in conversation but the playmaker opted to sign for another year at Sale, where his brother Joe is expected to join the coaching team next season. Gloucester’s Gareth Anscombe was another target, but he will now join Bayonne in France.<\/p>\n

When Freddie Burns announced his departure from Shokki in Japan on Wednesday morning, his brother Billy posted a tiger emoji in the comments. Rugby Confidential understands there was no weight behind the joke \u2013 despite Burns\u2019 huge popularity in the East Midlands \u2013 with the veteran No 10 already close to agreeing his next globe-trotting move.<\/p>\n

Instead, Tigers are understood to have signed up 23-year-old Charlie Titcombe from the Scarlets, having brought the youngster through their academy at Oval Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Leicester <\/p>\n

Leicester Tigers and South Africa fly-half Handre Pollard will rejoin the Bulls in his homeland this summer<\/p>\n

\"Leicester <\/p>\n

Leicester had hoped to re-sign England No 10 George Ford but he will stay on at Sale<\/p>\n

\"Freddie <\/p>\n

Freddie Burns wrote himself into Tigers lore with the drop-goal that won the Premiership title in 2022 but he will not be returning to Welford Road<\/p>\n

However, the global search for a big-ticket playmaker remains ongoing. Tomas Albornoz is among the names to appear on an extensive list of candidates, but he is under contract with Benetton in Italy.<\/p>\n

Last week, the club were pipped by Northampton to sign Callum Chick. At one point, Tigers were front-runners in the race for the No 8 from Newcastle but their East Midlands rivals turned his head with a late offer.<\/p>\n

Argentina flanker Joaquin Moro has agreed to a move to Welford Road but the club have a huge experience void to fill.<\/p>\n

Hooker Jamie Blamire has been signed to replace Julian Montoya, while time will tell if the likes of Dan Cole and Mike Brown decide to join Ben Youngs in retirement.<\/p>\n

Recruitment will become easier once the club settle on their succession plan for head coach Michael Cheika. The Australian is leaving at the end of the season but there have been recent talks about him continuing in a long-distance consultancy role.<\/p>\n

Chris Boyd had a similar arrangement with Northampton, which could see Cheika contracted for around five days per month.<\/p>\n

Club executives flew out to the Southern Hemisphere last month, meeting with former All Black coach Leon MacDonald, among other internationals. An offer was made to the Kiwi but he has instead opted for a big-money job in Japan.<\/p>\n

Paul Gustard also turned down the chance to return to his former club so options are thin on the ground.<\/p>\n

\"Hooker <\/p>\n

Hooker Jamie Blamire has been signed to replace Julian Montoya<\/p>\n

\"Michael <\/p>\n

Michael Cheika (right) is leaving after just one season as head coach with Peter Hewat (left) his most likely replacement<\/p>\n

\"Aussie <\/p>\n

Aussie Hewat spent three seasons with London Irish as a full-back and winger from 2007 to 2010<\/p>\n

As things stand, the most likely scenario is for Cheika to work on a long-distance basis, with Peter Hewat taking over the day-to-day roles.<\/p>\n

Hewat is already in place at Welford Road, having joined the club alongside Cheika last summer. He already has an established working relationship with his fellow Australian which could smooth the transition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nothing is signed off yet, however. Here,\u00a0Rugby Confidential\u00a0looks at some of the other leading candidates\u2026.<\/p>\n

Lee Blackett<\/p>\n

The former Wasps boss is one of the most highly-rated coaches in England.<\/p>\n

He lives in Leicestershire with his young family and has no immediate intention to relocate, despite the 280-mile commute to Bath, where he is assistant coach.<\/p>\n

Bizarrely, Tigers have not contacted Blackett at all, with the 42-year-old opting to sign a new contract with Bath, before being called up to Steve Borthwick’s coaching team for the Lions’ summer tour of Argentina.<\/p>\n

Stuart Lancaster<\/p>\n

Held extensive talks with the Wallabies, who instead opted to give their main job to Australian Les Kiss.<\/p>\n

Lancaster is back on the market after a challenging couple of seasons with Racing 92, which is understood to have been made more difficult by the language barrier.<\/p>\n

\"Former <\/p>\n

Former England head coach Stuart Lancaster\u00a0is back on the market after a challenging couple of seasons with Racing 92<\/p>\n

\"Brad\u00a0Mooar <\/p>\n

Brad\u00a0Mooar has an impressive CV, having worked with clubs around the world. He was part of the All Blacks coaching team under Ian Foster and has worked with Scotland and Argentina<\/p>\n

\"Leicester <\/p>\n

Leicester club legend Graham Rowntree has been released by Munster<\/p>\n

Brad Mooar<\/p>\n

Mooar has an impressive CV, having worked with clubs around the world. He was part of the All Blacks coaching team under Ian Foster and has recently worked with Scotland and Argentina. He is popular with players and one well-placed source in New Zealand said they would be surprised if the current Crusaders assistant is not on Leicester\u2019s shortlist.<\/p>\n

Graham Rowntree<\/p>\n

A name that has been linked with the job from the start. The former prop has remained in Ireland since he was released by Munster earlier this season. However, the club have moved for other coaches in the meantime, casting doubt over their appetite for the club stalwart.<\/p>\n

Saracens looking ahead to the Morrow\u00a0<\/p>\n

Saracens are exploring a coaching reshuffle for next season, as they prepare for life without general manager Phil Morrow.<\/p>\n

Attack coach Kevin Sorrell is considering taking on a new role, which would open the door for veteran full-back Alex Goode to begin his transition into the coaching box.<\/p>\n

Pollock-mania at the Gardens\u00a0<\/p>\n

Northampton Saints have jumped aboard the Henry Pollock hype train by releasing official Pollock headbands at their club shop.<\/p>\n

Young fans have been turning up to games wearing the 20-year-old\u2019s trademark head-tape, off the back of his incredible breakthrough season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now the club have put official merchandise on sale, with the accessory selling for just \u00a36.<\/p>\n

\"Northampton <\/p>\n

Northampton Saints have jumped aboard the Henry Pollock hype train by releasing official Pollock headbands at their club shop<\/p>\n

Ashton’s Sale stint\u00a0<\/p>\n

Former England head coach Brian Ashton has been lending his coaching wisdom to Sale as the Sharks target Premiership glory.<\/p>\n

Rugby Confidential understands Ashton, now 78, has been a regular presence at the club\u2019s Carrington training ground this season and he has again been in the building ahead of their crunch clash with Leicester – who sit a place above them in second – on Friday night.<\/p>\n

Ashton lives in the north of England and Sharks director of rugby Alex Sanderson has been keen to lean on his wisdom in the season\u2019s run-in.<\/p>\n

All eyes on the O2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Around <\/p>\n

Around 2,000 fans are expected to turn out for Andy Farrell’s Lions squad announcement at The O2 arena on Thursday<\/p>\n

Around 2,000 fans are expected to turn out for the Lions squad announcement at The O2 arena on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Initially, supporters were given a purchase limit of two tickets per customer but seats remain available for the event.<\/p>\n

The players have not been given any advance notice about their selection, with head coach Andy Farrell opting not to send out \u2018letters of consideration\u2019 to prospective call-ups, as has previously been the case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The paperwork in the offices at Welford Road is piling up. Contracts have been written and ripped up.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84137,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4102],"tags":[92,4210,4151,4204,93,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-84136","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-lions-tour","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-rugbyunion","12":"tag-sport","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114471284657636095","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}