Why Cilliers left Leicester for Exiles
EXCLUSIVE: London Irish prop Pat Cilliers was not a favourite of former Leicester Tigers coach Matt O’Connor, which saw the Springbok leave the club with one year left on his contract.
Cilliers harbours no bitterness towards O’Connor but believes his former club are now in a better position since Geordan Murphy took over the reigns.
“I had another year on my contract [with Leicester] and these things happen. I don’t think the former coach [Matt O’Connor] and I were probably on best terms or he didn’t like me or anything like that but I just wasn’t playing. So it was either stick there for another year and probably not get another contract,” Cilliers said.
“So it was best for both parties to go our separate ways. I was happy about it, I probably wasn’t the biggest supporter of him and he was obviously not the best supporter of myself, so it was for the best.
“Leicester has moved on and they are in a better position themselves. I know Murphy very well and he is definitely the right man for the job.
“Leicester Tigers is probably the biggest club in Europe, supporters wise. They didn’t make the semifinals for the first time in 13 years, which was massive for the club, they haven’t really been successful in Europe for a couple of years, so change needed to happen.
“The timing was obviously not ideal but they are in a far better place now than they were a month ago,” he added.
Watch as Pat Cilliers speaks about this topic and shares some funny stories!
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