The pivotal role Richard Wigglesworth played in rescuing Leicester after England took Steve Borthwick and Kevin Sinfield mid-season can today be fully revealed.
Two days before the Rugby Football Union announced in December that the pair would be taking charge, Borthwick broke the news to his Tigers squad. By then it was rugby’s worst kept secret but none of the players knew Sinfield would be going too. Leicester hoped he would take over from Borthwick.
That afternoon Tigers beat Clermont in the Champions Cup, Wigglesworth coming off the bench for what would turn out to be his last game as a player. As the players walked back into the home changing room chief executive Andrea Pinchen caught wind that Borthwick was about to make his announcement.
