McKellar's tough opening with Tigers

DAN McKellar has vowed to bring success to Leicester, but they will have to do it the hard way in the Heineken Champions Cup with a trip to holders La Rochelle followed by a home encounter with the team they with the team they defeated in the final, Leinster. 

- PAUL REES

 

Head coach McKellar arrived at the club last month after turning down he opportunity to go to the World Cup with Australia because he wanted to fulfil an ambition of coaching in the Premiership.

The assistant coach of the Brumbies in Canberra between 2014 and 2017, McKellar was then head coach of the Super Rugby outfit for four years and took charge of the Wallabies forwards in 2021.

He was appointed by Leicester after being backed by his predecessor Steve Borthwick, now England’s head coach, and while he will have a relatively gentle introduction to the game in England with the Premiership Rugby Cup kicking off the season on the same weekend in September that the World Cup starts, there will be little respite from the middle of October.

Leicester are in the toughest Champions Cup pool. Their group campaign is bookended by home matches against the Stormers, the United Rugby Championship runners-up, and Leinster. In between come trips to France to face Stade Francais and La Rochelle.

“I had the chance to go to the World Cup, which was a massive carrot,” said McKellar. “I had a huge decision to make, but it came down to a club I admire, Leicester, and I have always wanted to coach in the Premiership.

“It was a no-brainier. I will miss being part of the World Cup, but Leicester was an experience I was not prepared to knock back. It is a famous club I have observed closely and been a fan of from afar. I have an enormous amount of respect for what they have achieved on and off the field.”