Ben Youngs has revealed that Leicester players have sat down with Michael Cheika and spelled out to him how the club is perceived by the rest of the Gallagher Premiership.
Cheika, who joined Tigers in the summer, said he feels unwanted in the league after copping a ban for disrespecting an independent match day doctor in his first competitive match in charge.
Youngs, England’s most-capped player, believes the player meeting has allowed Cheika to better understand the baptism of fire he has undergone at Tigers.
Fire burning strongly
Ahead of Saturday’s East Midlands derby, which brings champions and arch-rivals Northampton to Welford Road, Youngs has gone so far as to credit Leicester‘s new head coach with rekindling his desire to play on.
“You always have that battle with yourself,” the 127-times capped scrum-half told Planet Rugby. “Is the fire genuinely still burning or am I having to convince myself that it is?
“Back end of last year I think I was trying to do that, whereas this year the fire is very much alight. And that is due to Cheik and his vision of the way he wants to do things. I’m genuinely excited.”
The Rugby Football Union were a lot less enamoured with the Australian after he confronted the independent match day doctor over the immediate player removal process of captain Ollie Chessum during Tigers’ opening weekend win at Exeter.
Cheika was handed a two-match ban, with one suspended, prompting him and Leicester to take issue with the RFU’s version of events.
They opted not to appeal but Cheika said the decision “wasn’t right” and “hurt” his reputation, before concluding: “I almost felt like they don’t really want me to be in the league here.”
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Against this backdrop, and in the run-up to their biggest fixture of the regular season, Leicester’s players circled the wagons around their new boss.
“Cheik has been desperate to immerse himself into that Leicester psyche and understand it better, in terms of what it feels like to be a player,” says Youngs. “So we sat down with him and were pretty clear on how we know the club is perceived by others.
“We tried to explain to him what we think other teams and other people think of us. What happened last week gave him an understanding that at times you bear the brunt because you’re part of Leicester.”
Leicester, champions for a record 11th time in 2022, are England’s biggest and best supported club. With that, as Youngs intimates, comes a certain animosity from rivals.
However, the Red Rose legend has no doubt the man who coached the Wallabies to a World Cup final in 2015, and Argentina to the semi-finals a year ago, is perfect for the job.
“You couldn’t find a better fit,” he argues. “He’s deeply competitive, very clear about the success he wants and the standards he drives. And he likes doing it tough.
“He loves that challenge of a team not going as well as they’re probably capable and unlocking that potential. Of going a bit backs-against-the-wall and saying ‘who’s coming with me’?”
Youngs hails Cheika approach
Youngs adds: “From a personal point of view, he gets me. The longer your career goes – and I’m knocking on 450 competitive matches for club and country – the more coaches are afraid to challenge you.
“They kind of leave you to your own devices a little bit. Not Cheik. He has come in and said he wants to see me look at the game differently.
“I’ve really enjoyed that dialogue and that challenge. I’m in a very good spot, both physically and emotionally. Hungry to get after it.”
That is notable given that Youngs, who retired from England duty after the World Cup, suffered a major health scare earlier this year when collapsing during a Tigers’ open training session.
The 35-year old underwent heart surgery and was diagnosed with an irregular and abnormally fast heartbeat.
“The first thing you fear is will this stop me doing what I want to do? Or worse,” he says. “I thought, ‘how have I got to this stage of my career and suddenly this has appeared?’
“I met with the specialist and said ‘look, am I at risk of something major happening here? Will this stop me carrying on?’ The reply was ‘no’ and ‘no’. That was the reassurance I needed.
“Do I feel more mortal now? I’m not quite sure of the answer so I’m not going to make one up. What I do feel is excited. A lot more freed up than I have for a long time.”
So it is that Youngs heads into yet another derby clash with Northampton, primed for the fire and brimstone that comes with this most intense of rivalries.
“We all now how important this fixture is, it is instilled in us at a very early age,” he says. “Certainly from the moment you first walk through the door at either club.
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“This week intensity in training has gone up a couple of notches, everyone is a bit more aggy, shall we say. We play a sport increasingly driven by data but I’ll tell you what there’s no data on and that’s emotion.
“There’s no metric for that. In this game you’ll see it pouring out of both teams: that emotional energy, that intent, that desire to win at any cost. That’s what this fixture does.
“I don’t think any derby in English rugby whets the appetite quite like Leicester-Northampton.”
Saints make the 40-mile trip north lying fifth in the table, one point and two places behind Tigers, who are not among the top six favourites for the title.
Youngs is having none of that. “My mindset this year is I want to go and win it,” he says. “I truly believe we can and I know I speak on behalf of a load of lads.
“Cheik has come to Leicester to win. He’s here to win a comp. If he didn’t think we could he wouldn’t have walked through the door.
“Let’s be honest, the Premiership hasn’t lured a massive name like him for a very long time. He is, arguably, one of the top three or four coaches in the world.
“So there’s genuine excitement here. You feel it in the crowd and you sense it in the wider community.”
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