Rugby Union: Leicester Rule Out Johnson Replacing Richards

Leicester have ruled out elevating Martin Johnson to succeed their former director of rugby Dean Richards, who ended a 23-year association with the Tigers this week after refusing to accept a change in his job description.

England's World Cup-winning captain is part of a four-man management team which will be in charge for the remainder of the season. The other three are the club's chief executive Peter Wheeler, the head coach John Wells and the captain Neil Back.

Richards took over as Leicester's director of rugby in 1998, a year after he finished his career as a player, but Wheeler said it was highly unlikely that Johnson, who still has to decide whether to play on next season having retired from international rugby last month, would be similarly fast-tracked.

"Dean's international career had been over for a few years while Martin was part of a successful World Cup campaign only a couple of months ago," said Wheeler. "We are talking about a different era and I am not sure that Martin, who has had a very intense last four years, would want to take on an even more demanding job so soon.

"I am unsure what Martin intends to do in the future. He has not decided yet whether he will be playing next season and we do not have to rush into a decision. The priority for us is our last eight Premiership matches and securing enough points to get us into the wild-card play-off which we need to win to qualify for the Heineken Cup."

Wheeler is in charge of Friday night's visit to Sale, though Wells will pick the side. Leicester will need to win at least six of their final eight league matches, five of which are away from home, to have a realistic chance of making the play-off.

Wheeler revealed that he and the club's chairman Peter Tom held a meeting with Richards 14 months ago because of concerns that Leicester, after four consecutive Premiership titles and back-to-back Heineken Cup successes, were in danger of emulating Bath by plunging quickly from the top to the relegation zone.

Ironically, Bath are now the runaway leaders of the Premiership, having avoided relegation on the final day of last season. The Leicester board wanted Richards to accept a number of changes to his role, with authority delegated in a number of areas including recruitment and selection.

"We have made some good signings in recent years and some bad ones," said Wheeler. "It was clear that we had to make changes to the way things were being run. Dean, unfortunately, did not accept that and he left. It was a horrible way for his career here to end, but we would have been failing in our duty as directors had we not addressed the problems we faced."

Richards has been hampered by international calls, a lengthy injury list and the Premiership clubs' £1.91m salary cap which denied the Tigers the opportunity to exploit their status as England's most profitable club.

"The cap needs to be reviewed," said Wheeler. "We understand that it is in place to ensure stability in the Premiership and we have no argument with that. We feel it is inappropriate to raise it merely by the level of inflation each year, with the game becoming more prosperous.

"It is an issue we will keep raising until something is done. It is costing the Premiership some world-class players with the likes of Bobby Skinstad, Todd Blackadder and Christian Cullen going to Wales, Scotland and Ireland respectively while France are hoovering up."

Leicester are likely to advertise worldwide for Richards' successor. Sale's Jim Mallinder has emerged as the early favourite and he is currently talking to his employers about a new contract.

Richards is unlikely to be out of work for long. "There is no doubting Dean's quality," said Wheeler. "I would be very surprised if Cecil Duckworth [the chairman of the First Division leaders Worcester] has not already been on the phone to him."