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November 21, 2011

Posted on 11/21/2011

Spectre of Johnson hangs heavy over Leicester

The Guardian's Paul Rees reports from Leicester's Heineken Cup victory over Ulster.

"Out with the new and in with the old is a refrain being urged on Twickenham after the resignation of Martin Johnson as the England team manager. It has also been taken up by his former club, Leicester, as they achieved their first meaningful home victory of the season at a point in the campaign when they are usually defending an unbeaten ground record.

"They had been brittle in front of their own supporters but after Ulster led three times in the first half, at no stage for very long, the Tigers took control at forward. When Ben Youngs came on towards the end of the third quarter, the England scrum-half lifted the tempo and sharpened his side's focus.

"This was the old Tigers," said the Leicester director of rugby, Richard Cockerill, who, showing how wacky sport can be, was asked whether he thought he was in line to succeed Johnson, just a few weeks after he himself had been tipped for the sack. "We did just enough and left a good side with nowhere to go."

"The talk was mostly about Johnson, not least whether he would return to the club at which he spent his playing career, and who would replace him. "That job is far too soon for me," said Cockerill. "There are better qualified people than me around, like Jim Mallinder and Toby Booth."

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