Former London Irish full-back Peter Hewat will be the Leicester Tigers’ next attack coach, according to Telegraph Sport. Dan McKellar’s first season in charge is destined to end in failure. He will be joining the Tigers from the Black Rams in Rugby League One in Japan. Leicester’s prospects of qualifying for the playoffs are in shambles after a 40-17 loss to rival Northampton Saints on Saturday. Leicester is now six points outside of the top four and in third place after three rounds of Premiership fixtures. After Steve Borthwick took over as head coach of the England national side and raided Mattioli Woods Welford Road for most of his backroom personnel, McKellar was named head coach from the Brumbies in Australia. Richard Wigglesworth, Tom Harrison, and Kevin Sinfield joined Borthwick as assistant coaches while Aled Walters joined as head of strength and conditioning.
Leicester has experienced more disruptions this season than just that. While attack coach Alan Dickens was placed on leave in October, McKellar was unable to get his entire roster together for preseason due to the significant number of Tigers players participating in the World Cup. Matt Smith, a club mainstay who was already serving as lead academy coach and skills coach, took over in his absence.
But the Tigers’ offensive line hasn’t exactly been strong. With an average of three tries per game, Leicester has outscored opponents and made fewer metres than any other team, except for the winless Newcastle Falcons. Despite having the league’s strongest defence, they have given up 334 points. At times, it seems as though they are caught between playing a more expansive style of play and going back to the more structured approach that Borthwick used to win the Premiership in 2022. The next season, Leicester made it to the playoffs again under Wigglesworth’s temporary leadership.
McKellar has taken action to acquire Hewat, 46, from the Black Rams of Rugby League One in Japan. Hewat gained recognition as one of the most forward-thinking young Australian attacking coaches during their time together at the Brumbies, where the two had previously worked together. The former full-back with the London Irish joined the Black Rams in 2020 as an attack coach, and the following year he was named head coach.
Although it may not prevent any backroom changes in the off-season, McKellar also has to be given some wiggle room. Borthwick’s tactics also took some time to pay off at Leicester, where he finished sixth in his first season.
In their final games, Leicester will play the highly skilled Bristol Bears, Sale Sharks and Exeter Chiefs. McKellar, who called the record-tying derby loss to Northampton a “hard watch,” has instructed his players not to concentrate on the score. McKellar stated, “I’m just worried about performance; I’m not even really worried about play-offs.” “We will concentrate on Bristol right now, as we have three games remaining before returning home the following week.”
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