Cockerill
A former player for England and now an elite coach, Richard Cockerill is a giant of the game. Discover why with the help of RugbyPass, your resident rugby gurus.
Richard Cockerill Bio
Richard Cockerill was an exceptionally talented hooker who represented Coventry, Leicester Tigers and Montferrand. Since his retirement from the game, he’s become a highly successful coach.
Richard Cockerill’s professional rugby career started in 1991, when he signed for Coventry. However, after several standout performances, he left the club only a year later and signed for Leicester.
In his decade at Leicester Tigers, Richard Cockerill established himself as the ‘B’ in the ‘ABC Club’ alongside Graham Rowntree (A) and Darren Garforth (C). With this partnership, Leicester enjoyed a period of sustained success. However, in the final of the Heineken Champions Cup in 2001 and 2002, Richard Cockerill remained an unused replacement.
Richard Cockerill left Leicester at the end of the 2002 season after a dip in form. After his 250th appearance for the side, he signed for Montferrand in France. However, he only stayed with the French outfit until 2004 and returned to the UK to spend one more season with Leicester before his retirement.
Throughout his career, Richard Cockerill was also capped by England 27 times between 1997 and 1999. However, he was dropped from the side when he criticised head coach Sir Clive Woodward in his book.
Since retiring from the game in 2005, Richard Cockerill has moved into coaching. In recent years, he’s held coaching positions with Leicester Tigers, Toulon and Edinburgh.
