Richard Cockerill
Encyclopedia
Richard Cockerill is a former English
rugby union
footballer who played as a hooker.
Cockerill was born in Rugby
. Joining Leicester Tigers
, he established himself as the B of the "ABC club" alongside Graham Rowntree
(A) and Darren Garforth
(C).
He made his England debut against Argentina in 1997 and later his first match at Twickenham was as a half-time replacement for the Bath hooker Andy Long
in Clive Woodward
's first match in charge against the Wallabies; Long was young and clearly out of his depth. Cockerill's performance earned him a starting place against New Zealand, where he stood up to Norm Hewitt
during the haka
(see book cover).
A dip in form led him to lose his first choice hooking position at Leicester to Dorian West
. He was also dropped from the England side after criticising Woodward in his book entitled In Your Face. He subsequently moved to France, but signed again for Leicester for the 2004–5 season.
In 2005 he was appointed forwards coach at Leicester Tigers succeeding John Wells
.
Cockerill served as acting head coach of Leicester Tigers in the early part of the 2007–08 season
before Marcelo Loffreda
arrived from Argentina
in the wake of the Pumas'
third-place finish in the 2007 Rugby World Cup
. He also took over as acting head coach in February 2009 after Heyneke Meyer
resigned due to family reasons. On 17 April 2009, Cockerill was confirmed in the head coach role.
On 16 May he guided Leicester to win the Guinness Premiership with a 10–9 win over London Irish
in the final. A week later they lost in the final of the Heineken cup
to Leinster by 19 points to 16 in Edinburgh
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
footballer who played as a hooker.
Cockerill was born in Rugby
Rugby, Warwickshire
Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...
. Joining Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
, he established himself as the B of the "ABC club" alongside Graham Rowntree
Graham Rowntree
Graham Christopher Rowntree is a former English rugby union player. He played loosehead prop for Leicester Tigers and England. He was capped 54 times for England, despite having to compete for his position with the world's second most capped player, Jason Leonard.Rowntree was born in...
(A) and Darren Garforth
Darren Garforth
Darren Garforth is a former international rugby union footballer who played tighthead prop for Leicester Tigers and England....
(C).
He made his England debut against Argentina in 1997 and later his first match at Twickenham was as a half-time replacement for the Bath hooker Andy Long
Andy Long
Andy Long is an English rugby union footballer who plays at Hooker for Northampton Saints. He has 2 caps for England.Originally a product of the Bath academy, where he came to the attention of Bath coach Clive Woodward, having captained England U19 and U21...
in Clive Woodward
Clive Woodward
Sir Clive Ronald Woodward OBE is an English former rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He is currently the British Olympic Association's Director of Elite Performance.-Early life:Woodward was born in Ely...
's first match in charge against the Wallabies; Long was young and clearly out of his depth. Cockerill's performance earned him a starting place against New Zealand, where he stood up to Norm Hewitt
Norm Hewitt
Norman "Norm" Hewitt is a former New Zealand All Black Rugby Union Player. He was selected for the New Zealand team because of his fantastic performance in Hawkes Bay's surprise victory over the British Lions in 1993...
during the haka
Haka of the All Blacks
The Haka is a traditional Maori war dance from New Zealand. There are thousands of Haka that are performed by various tribes and cultural groups throughout New Zealand. The best known Haka of them all is called "Ka Mate". It has been performed by countless New Zealand teams both locally and...
(see book cover).
A dip in form led him to lose his first choice hooking position at Leicester to Dorian West
Dorian West
Dorian Edward West MBE nicknamed "Nobby" is a former English international rugby union footballer.Born in Wrexham, his family moved to England when he was young...
. He was also dropped from the England side after criticising Woodward in his book entitled In Your Face. He subsequently moved to France, but signed again for Leicester for the 2004–5 season.
In 2005 he was appointed forwards coach at Leicester Tigers succeeding John Wells
John Wells (rugby)
John Wells is a former captain and coach of the Leicester Tigers rugby union team and presently forwards coach for England.Wells was born in Driffield, Yorkshire...
.
Cockerill served as acting head coach of Leicester Tigers in the early part of the 2007–08 season
2007-08 Guinness Premiership
The 2007–08 Guinness Premiership was the 21st season of the top flight of the English domestic rugby union competitions, played between September 2007 and May 2008. Due to the 2007 Rugby World Cup the season started slightly later than normal, as England were trying to defend their title...
before Marcelo Loffreda
Marcelo Loffreda
Marcelo Loffreda is a rugby player and coach, until recently head coach for the English club power Leicester Tigers. Loffreda won 44 caps with one as captain, playing at centre for the Argentine rugby union side...
arrived from Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in the wake of the Pumas'
Argentina national rugby union team
The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union .Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British...
third-place finish in the 2007 Rugby World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
. He also took over as acting head coach in February 2009 after Heyneke Meyer
Heyneke Meyer
Heyneke Meyer is a rugby union coach, most recently Head Coach at Leicester Tigers in the Guinness Premiership. He is the former coach of the Blue Bulls in the Super 14 competition....
resigned due to family reasons. On 17 April 2009, Cockerill was confirmed in the head coach role.
On 16 May he guided Leicester to win the Guinness Premiership with a 10–9 win over London Irish
London Irish
London Irish RFC is an English rugby union club based in Sunbury, Surrey, where the senior squad train, the youth teams and senior academy play home games, and the club maintain their administrative offices. The senior squad play home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading and compete in the top...
in the final. A week later they lost in the final of the Heineken cup
2009 Heineken Cup Final
The 2009 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2008–09 Heineken Cup, the 14th season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 23 May 2009 at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh; this was the second time that the Heineken Cup final had been held at Murrayfield after...
to Leinster by 19 points to 16 in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.