8 hours ago
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Leicester Tigers have appointed former England and British and Irish Lions lock Geoff Parling as their head coach from next season.
The 41-year-old has signed a long-term deal and replaces former Australia coach Michael Cheika, who leaves after just one season at Welford Road.
Parling, who won two Premiership titles as a Tigers player, is currently an assistant coach with Australia and will take over in August after working with the Wallabies for the series against the British and Irish Lions.
"I was lucky enough to have some incredible moments in the Leicester Tigers jersey, made through hard work by good people, and so I am extremely proud to be coming back to lead the club," Parling told the club's website., external
"There are not many opportunities that would make myself and my family think about leaving Australia, the place we've called home for the past seven years, but coming back to Leicester Tigers is one that we are really looking forward to."
Parling played almost 100 times in six seasons with the Tigers after joining them from Newcastle in 2009 and won England 29 caps.
He toured Australia with the British and Irish Lions in 2013, starting the second and third Tests, and also played for Exeter, Munakata Sanix Blues in Japan and Melbourne Rebels before retiring in 2018 and moving into coaching with the now-defunct Australian franchise.
He has worked as an assistant coach with the Wallabies since 2020.
"He is a high calibre coach, strong leader, and understands this club," said Tigers chairman Tom Scott. "He achieved success here as a player and we believe he will as a coach."
"Geoff has made great strides in his coaching career over the past eight years and we are excited that we will be a part of his next chapter, one that will last long into the future, at Leicester Tigers."
Parling said he still had "plenty of work to do" with the Wallabies before taking over at Tigers and was "very much focused on the immediate challenges ahead" with Australia preparing for a warm-up Test against Fiji on 6 July before the much-anticipated three-Test series against the Lions from 19 July to 2 August.
"I have felt incredibly privileged to work with a number of great people in my time here and would especially like to thank [head coach] Joe [Schmidt] for the environment he has created at the Wallabies," he said.
"My family and I originally came to Australia for seven months and will now be leaving after seven years proud to call ourselves Australian citizens, and lucky to have lived in such a great community. I'm looking forward to continuing to work hard with our great staff and leaving Australia on a positive note."
Peter Horne, Rugby Australia's director of high performance, said Parling had "given his heart and soul to Australian rugby and for that we are very grateful".
He added: "We are obviously sad to see him go but we understand the opportunity presented to him by Leicester Tigers is a good one for his family and career."
Analysis by BBC Radio Leicester's Adam Whitty
In the months of speculation and rumour, Geoff Parling's name was barely mentioned as a potential successor to Michael Cheika. On the face of it though, it seems a sensible pick.
Parling was a fantastic player for Leicester over six seasons, and was in fact the last Tigers player to start a British and Irish Lions test in 2013.
In picking him, Leicester have had their cake and eaten it - they have followed a previously successful model of picking ex-players who know the club, and what works (see Dean Richards and Richard Cockerill), but have also recruited someone with loads of experience in club and international rugby abroad - who can continue to develop Tigers' game.
There were just eight mentions of the fact this is a 'long-term deal' in the announcement from the club, a not-too-subtle hint that they are desperate to end the years of tumult that have followed the top job at England's most successful club - Parling will be their ninth head coach in nine years.
He will join pre-season late, after the Lions tour, which is not ideal, but if he's the right man, it is worth the risk.
He'll take over a new-look squad, with players like Handre Pollard, Julian Montoya and Ben Youngs departing.
It is worth pointing out, too, that this is one of three major vacancies that need filling. We still don't know who Leicester's fly-half and defence coach will be next year.
