Richards sees danger in Tigers' glory run

Zurich Premiership: Leicester's director of rugby has developed a taste for success but admits that maintaining momentum will be difficult

Dean Richards has always been lumbered with a reputation of one kind or another. Over the course of two decades, the great shambling bear of Midlands rugby has been stereotyped as the first of a new breed of No 8, the last of an old breed of No 8, a non-trainer of religious zeal, a connoisseur of fine ale and custodian of the game's timeless values (the two are inextricably linked), and a stubborn mule of a loose forward who would have won the 1991 World Cup for England had he stayed in Geoff Cooke's good books and got himself picked for the final against Australia.

In the eyes of the sporting media, which forges reputations faster than a blacksmith forges horseshoes, Richards is now squarely in the "bloody hard work" category. And it is true to say that Leicester's director of rugby – the manager of the reigning English and European champions, the most successful club side in the world – often performs his public duties under extreme sufferance. There were occasions last season when, had he been asked the time, Richards would have replied: "You don't honestly expect me to answer that, do you?"

Yet in the absence of microphones and cameras and the ever-expanding paraphernalia of the oval-ball bandwagon, Richards will talk rugby all day, and far into the night. He was certainly in fine fettle at the Tigers' training ground on Thursday as his players slogged their way through an unseasonal downpour in preparation for tomorrow's perilous Premiership opener at Newcastle. "When we went over to Perpignan for our friendly match earlier this month," he said with huge relish, "a couple of us decided to pop up the road to Béziers, where Gloucester were playing. There was a hell of a scrap, I can tell you. It was one of those that move upfield under its own momentum, drawing everyone in. By the end, even the security guards were having a go. I haven't seen one like that for years."

Leicester's Heineken Cup triumph over the swanky Parisians of Stade Français at Parc des Princes last May has relaxed him. During the build-up to the final, Richards was uptight and evasive: asked a thousand times to confirm that this was the biggest, most significant game in the club's history, he invariably stonewalled by saying: "We'd like to win, of course, but we don't prioritise competitions at Welford Road." As he admits now, he was talking through his rear end. Last season's European title meant everything to the Tigers. Everything, and a little bit more.

"It was clear that when we won the Premiership, and then the Zurich Championship final at Twickenham, our celebrations were certainly on the muted side," he agreed this week. "That was because the greatest challenge, the defining match of the season, was still ahead of us. We all knew that: players, supporters, management. I'd love to win it again this season; no club has ever won a second Heineken, let alone back to back, and to achieve that would be something special. But there again, there is a limit to how long you can maintain success of this magnitude. I think it will be a very long time before a side wins three successive Premierships, as we have just done. I'll happily take any silverware we can lay our hands on."

When Richards is in one of his Eeyore moods, he can make Jeremiah sound positively optimistic: he has taken to predicting the worst at the beginning of each season – "How can we hope to win a Premiership when we will lose half a team to international rugby for weeks on end?" runs the mantra – and, true to form, he is not entirely happy at the rugby hierarchy's determination to complete last season's interrupted Six Nations' tournament by playing the three outstanding matches at the beginning of this one. "Don't you think it's just a little petty?" he asked. "After all, there's another Six Nations after Christmas."

But the problems he faces as the new campaign kicks into gear are unique to his experience and the novelty has lightened his spirit. "Perhaps for the first time, we must confront the possibility of complacency creeping into our mentality," he said. "We have enjoyed a remarkable run of success, and there must be a temptation to think that games can be won without the necessary hard work. Thankfully, I believe there are enough people here with their heads screwed on and their feet on the ground. The most striking thing about this group of people is that they are not egotistical in any shape or form."

If the likes of Martin Johnson, Graham Rowntree, Darren Garforth and Neil Back bear out that opinion, so too does the former All Black flanker Josh Kronfeld, who arrived at Leicester from Otago during the summer. No player in the post-war era has been more motivated, and none more selfless. Richards believes the Tigers have been particularly fortunate with their overseas contingent. "Joel Stransky, Fritz van Heerden and Dave Lougheed all made wonderful contributions," he said, "and then there was Pat Howard, who must be right up there alongside Pat Lam as the best signing made by anyone, anywhere." He expects Kronfeld to deliver on a similar scale.

"I've always had the highest regard for Josh, and in his short time here he has already proved himself an ideas man," Richards continued. "He comes from a different rugby culture; he has encountered different situations and played different styles. He has no formal coaching role at the moment, but it's a case of as and when. If an experienced international can illuminate a training session with his thoughts, it would be daft not to pick his brains."

Where, though, does Kronfeld's appearance leave the brilliant young open-side specialist Lewis Moody, who so impressed Clive Woodward on England's summer tour of North America?

What ambitious red rose wannabe could reasonably be asked to kick his heels behind two rivals as efficient and effective as Back and Kronfeld? "It's fair to say that Lewis had his concerns when we signed Josh," Richards admitted. "But when you work alongside the likes of Back and Kronfeld, you understand something of what is required to reach the very top and stay there. Lewis took advice from the people he trusts, thought it over and finally accepted that this experience will be of huge benefit to him. Besides, he'll be in the team if he plays well enough. We pick on form here, not reputation."

With Leicester's Lions contingent resting up until mid-September – "They'd play tomorrow if they had the chance, but I think we'll keep them away from the bosh for another week or so," said the manager – Richards' skills as a selector will be tested to the full in the coming matches against Newcastle, Wasps, Gloucester and Bath – a hairy start in anyone's language. Does he, for example, play the 31-year-old Jamie Hamilton or the 19-year-old Harry Ellis in Austin Healey's stead at scrum-half? Does Johnson's been-there-and-done-a-bit brother Will fill the vacancy in the second row, or does the job go to the 20-year-old Louis Deacon?

This week, Newcastle published an advertising flier for tomorrow's game: it featured a picture of a tiny ginger kitten under the provocative one-word headline: "Tigers?" For that reason alone, Richards will want to get his selection absolutely right. "It is crucial that we start this season as we mean to continue," he said, peering at the leaflet on the clubhouse table. "Can we beat Newcastle without half-a-dozen first-choicers? Let's just see what happens when we get to Kingston Park."