Tigers boss bares his teeth to EPCR over travel troubles
Leicester Tigers coach Geoff Parling has bared his teeth to the Champions Cup tournament organisers after his team’s chaotic travel roster en route to Cape Town.
Leicester Tigers came away from Cape Town with their heads held high, after a spirited performance from the young side saw them run the United Rugby Championship league leaders, the Stormers, close in a Champions Cup Round Four fixture.
The Stormers secured their place in the Champions Cup play-offs with a 39-26 win against the Tigers at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
Parling admitted they will now shift their attention at the Challenge Cup and the Premiership in the chase for silverware.
Parling said he ‘rotated’ the squad (naming an understrength team for the trip to Cape Town) deliberately, because of the travel issues.
Having endured a 51-hour trip to South Africa, they now face a 25-hour flight back to Leicester.
Tigers, fifth on the Premiership standings, travel to London to face a much-improved Harlequins at Twickenham Stoop this coming Saturday.
The Premiership then takes a break till late in March, when the Tigers host Bristol Bears at Franklin’s Gardens.
That is why he left the bulk of his frontline players in England.
“The way I selected this team [for Cape Town] was with half-an-eye away against Quins next week.”
Parling said he has already aired his displeasure about the travelling schedule with the Champions Cup tournament organisers the European Professional Club Rugby.
He has extensive experience of long-hail flight, both as a player with the Melbourne Rebels and assistant coach with Australia.
“You become accustomed to it,” he told @JanDKrugby, adding: “However, there is no need to fly via Johannesburg when you can have a direct flight to Cape Town.
“We went back to the EPCR repeatedly, over a period of two-and-a-half months, and they eventually came up with alternative options two-and-a-half months later.
“Even without us having a flight cancelled, it was pretty poorly organised,” the Tigers boss said of a delay of 24 hours and the squad split into three groups en route to Cape Town.
He said that, without any doubt, the transport troubles impacted his young team’s performance against the Stormers.
“We arrived very late on the Wednesday evening, with 51 hours of travel.
“I was wrecked. I felt really tired.
“We showed we can be adaptable, and there are no excuses, and we made the best of the situation.”
Parling admitted that South Africa’s participation in the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup competitions is ‘great’ for the game.
“It is great for players to experience playing a different style of team.
“When I was in Super Rugby, back in the day, the contrast between and Australian team playing a New Zealand side and an Australian outfit facing a South African team meant you had to adapt because it was a different type of game.
“It is good for players to experience different bodies and the South African style.”
* (WATCH as Leicester Tigers coach Geoff Parling takes aim at the EPCR over his team’s travelling troubles ahead of their loss to the Stormers…..)
Parling’s extensive experience includes 300-odd first-class games between the Newcastle Falcons, Leicester Tigers, Exeter Chiefs, Munakata Blues and the Melbourne Rebels.
The 42-year-old Parling also has 29 caps for England and three for the British & Irish Lions.
He was appointed Leicester Tigers coach on a long-term deal last year.
He moved to the Tigers from Australia’s national team, the Wallabies, and before joining the Wallabies, he was an assistant coach with the Melbourne Rebels.
As a player, Parling won three Premierships, including two with the Tigers, and made more than 300 senior appearances in a professional career that spanned 15 seasons in England, Japan, and Australia.
After retiring from playing in 2018, Parling became line-out coach for the Melbourne Rebels.
In September 2020, Parling was appointed as Australia’s forward coach in Dave Rennie’s new coaching team.
In May 2025, Parling was announced as the new head coach of Leicester Tigers.
@JanDKrugby
