Martin Johnson Ready to Roar Again

For a second or two, listening to Martin Johnson assessing Leicester's prospects for the 2004-05 Zurich Premiership season, it was as if nothing had changed. "There's three trophies we can win and we'd like to win at least one of them," growled England's erstwhile captain, his tone implying the Tigers will take some beating in all three competitions. All it needed was Dean Richards alongside him and it would have been just like the good old days.

Everyone at Leicester, though, is aware that the cosy furniture at Welford Road has been shifted around this year. Deano calls Grenoble home, his old lieutenant John Wells is now in charge and the former players Pat Howard and Richard Cockerill have been asked back to freshen up the coaching staff. Johnson is no longer an England player and Neil Back, not Phil Larder, is taking the defence sessions. At any other club this would be a transitional season; at the Tigers, there is already a tell-tale glint in several eyes.

Partly this is because there is no obvious stand-out squad in the Premiership this year, barring another superhuman effort from the defending champions Wasps. Partly it reflects the upturn in Leicester's fortunes since Richards left, the club unbeaten in their final eight league games and qualifying for Europe via the wildcard play-offs. Above all, however, it stems from the delicious comfort of knowing that Johnson and Back will be available all season and that last year's World Cup-related headaches will not reoccur.

Even their chief executive Peter Wheeler now acknowledges that last season was the most difficult he has known at the club. "There were lots of reasons . . . the World Cup, the trauma of change, the number of injuries," he sighs. It is instructive, then, to hear Johnson cite last year's problems among the reasons he is still pawing the line with enthusiasm as the new season looms.

"I enjoyed the battle in a different sort of way," says Johnson, under whom Leicester won four championship titles in a row from 1999 to 2002 plus two European Cups. "We've had seasons where we've been top of the league at Christmas and people have said we've won the league already. This time we had to have a different mind-set. We had to really dig in to salvage something out of the season. I don't think many people thought we would on February 1."

This time Leicester's initial aim is to be in the top three at Christmas and to fight their way out of a savage European pool which also contains Wasps and Biarritz. To do so, they need Johnson to play like the warrior of old. At 34, the man himself is pretty sure England's loss can still be his beloved Leicester's gain.

"Am I fresher? I suppose I'll find out this weekend, but I feel OK," he says cautiously. "I feel I made the right decision for me to retire from international rugby when I did and I've been happier with that choice with every day that has gone by. It hasn't been a shock watching England run out at Twickenham or wherever. If you're not there preparing with the guys all week it's almost like it's not your game any more. It's never been a problem playing Test and club rugby so it shouldn't be a problem just doing one."

Having all but ruled out an active role on next summer's Lions tour, Johnson has also had more time to run an eye over Leicester's main rivals, many of whom he feels are benefiting from a higher standard of coaching. Inevitably, though, it is Wasps who dominate Leicester's thoughts, if only because the Tigers know how difficult it is to stay ahead of the pack in the salary-capped modern era.

"In a way you become a victim of your own success," says Johnson of Leicester's drought over the past two years. "Wasps' players have deserved the international recognition they've got but it means several of their guys will be away from the club more this season. Wasps are a fantastic team and to do the double last year was an immense achievement. But it's going to be harder for them than it was last year."

Even so, despite thumping pre-season wins over Edinburgh and Cardiff, neither the captain nor Wells will be getting carried away before Sunday's opening game at Sale. "The team we have now might be a great team in a few years' time - it might not be a great team overnight," insists Wells. Either way, it seems the Tigers are heading back to where they once belonged.

English rugby's domestic champions - the past 10 years of the Premiership

2004 Wasps

2003 Wasps

2002 Leicester

2001 Leicester

2000 Leicester

1999 Leicester

1998 Newcastle

1997 Wasps

1996 Bath

1995 Leicester