IF ANYONE had forecast a year ago that an Australian coach would guide an English side made up of 15 England qualified players to the Heineken European Cup final, he would have been curtly dismissed as barking mad.
Bob Dwyer's achievement with a Leicester team that has embraced interactive rugby as to the manner born is nothing short of phenomenal and, if they defeat Brive at Cardiff Arms Park today, he could well become the first rugby coach to be granted the freedom of an English city.
No one knows better than Dwyer, who masterminded Australia's 1991 World Cup triumph over England at Twickenham, how difficult it is to go the extra mile and win a major trophy for the first time. Certainly Leicester have suffered a heartbreaking series of disappointments during the past decade that has regularly tested their powers of recovery on the domestic front. For the 20,000 Leicester fans who travel to Cardiff defeat would be unthinkable.
Perhaps the best reason to back Leicester to win is the remarkable transfusion of traditional Australian get up and go that Dwyer has injected into a quintessential English club. Leicester used to give the impression that as long as their formidable pack knocked the stuffing out of the opposition they weren't too worried about losing in less than five months Dwyer has convinced everyone at Welford Road that defeat hurts so badly you don't even think about it.
The result an astonishing run of 19 straight wins in all competitions. Dean Richards the Leicester captain pushes the logic of winner takes all further than Dwyer, declaring that the European campaign "will all have been a waste of time" if Leicester fail to become champions.
On the surface Dwyer may appear a bit philosophical yet in reality he too regards losing as a social disease to be shunned at all costs. "While we realise the extremely hard task ahead of us we're determined to go that extra step," he said. "It should be a fantastic occasion. Brive are not really a classical French team but they do have flair and look to be a very difficult side to play against."
Significantly Brive have defeated both Harlequins and Cardiff, widely regarded as potential champions in the Autumn when Bath and Wasps fell lamely by the wayside. Like the Tigers, Brive have cantered through the competing from playing key pool games and the knock out ties at home.
Brive, who expected to bring 5,900 fans with them, are studded with exciting match winners such as the half backs Philippe Carbonneau and Alain Penaud who both helped France to victory in last weekend's Five Nations opener against Ireland in Dublin.
The pacy centre David Venditti plundered a hat trick of tries from the left wing in Dublin and Brive's right wing, Carrat, has scored eight European Cup tries, more than anyone else in the competition. Viars the full back also has Test experience.
By all accounts the Brive pack is just as dynamic as Leicester's especially in the back row where Kacala, an 18 stone Polish open side from Gdansk, knocked Cardiff forwards over like skittles in the semi final.
Nevertheless Leicester, who trained at Cardiff yesterday, will rely on their big guns such as Richards, Martin Johnson, Tony Underwood and Will Greenwood to set the French side unfamiliar problems with their potent blend of strength and pace.
The 42,000 capacity crowd can expect creative cameos in abundance. It will be intriguing to see whether Dwyer's opinion that the Super 12 competition is only marginally superior to the European Cup is borne out by a high level of continuity, controlled risk taking and accurate ball handling from the elite clubs of France and England.
The key question is whether Brive will turn out to be poor travellers like their compatriots from Toulouse, Dax and Pau who all succumbed on British grounds. Save for a slight hiccup at Northampton, Leicester have been firing on eight cylinders for the past two months. Expect the tide to continue running their way.
