acting head coach of Leicester Tigers in the early part of the 2007–08 season before Marcelo Loffreda arrived from Argentina in the wake of the Pumas' third-place finish in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He also took over as acting head coach in February 2009 after Heyneke Meyer resigned due to family reasons. On 17 April 2009, Cockerill was confirmed in the head coach role. On 16 May he guided Leicester to win the Premiership with a 10–9 win over London Irish in the final. A week later they lost in the final of the Heineken cup to Leinster 19–16 in Edinburgh. In the 2009–10 season Cockerill also led The Tigers to a second Premiership title in a row with a win over Saracens at Twickenham. On 13 December 2016, it was announced that Cockerill was to be fired from his position if he did not 'turn a corner' and subsequent defeats against various teams along with the players themselves asking for a change. On 2 January 2017 he was sacked after a home loss to Saracens in the Premiership. Four days later, on 6 January 2017, he found a position with French TOP 14 team Toulon as a member of the coaching team for the 2016-2017 season. On 20 February 2017, it was announced Cockerill has been appointed as head coach of Edinburgh Rugby for the 2017–18 Pro14 season. Following a downturn in results in the 2020/21 season it was announced in July 2021 that Cockerill would be leaving the club ahead of the 2021/22 season after 4 years in charge. On 3 September 2021, Cockerill was announced as 's new forwards coach, in Eddie Jones' coaching team. After Eddie Jones was fired from his England post in December 2022, Cockerill was appointed interim England coach. Bibliography Richard Cockerill (with Michael Tanner as a ghost writer) In Your Face: A Rugby Odyssey References External links Sporting heroes Tigers Coaches 2008–09 Tigers player profile 1970 births Living people ASM Clermont Auvergne players Coventry R.F.C. players England international rugby union players English rugby union coaches English rugby union players Leicester Tigers coaches Leicester Tigers players RC Toulonnais coaches Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from Rugby, Warwickshire