Can Parling be the one to 'build' at 'volatile' Tigers?

No seat in Prem Rugby is hotter than the one Geoff Parling now sits in at Leicester Tigers.

The 41-year-old is the ninth head coach in nine years to take his place at the helm of the most successful club in England.

No top-flight side has gone through more leadership changes in that time.

Through the revolving door at Mattioli Woods Welford Road since long time boss Richard Cockerill left in January 2017 – a period which has brought everything from relegation battles, a record-extending 11th Premiership crown and a title near miss – has been caretaker Aaron Mauger, then Matt O'Connor, Geordan Murphy, Steve Borthwick, Richard Wigglesworth, Dan McKellar and Michael Cheika.

Parling is the rookie head coach brought in to replace former Australia and Argentina boss Cheika, whose only season with Tigers ended with a Premiership Final defeat.

When it was announced that former England lock Parling would be returning to the club he helped to two league titles as a player, Tigers were keen to stress that he was coming in as a "long-term" appointment.

The promise of getting time to deliver, Parling said, was key when deciding to uproot his family in Australia and leave his job as Wallabies assistant coach to take the plunge as a first-time boss on the other side of the globe.

"When I interviewed I said that I want to build solid foundations for the club and that I'm not moving my family to the other side of the world not to do that," he told BBC Radio Leicester.

"I think the club in general has recognised it needs stability because it has been too volatile for lots of different reasons."

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Parling was greeted as a "wildcard" appointment when named as Cheika's successor, with the former British and Irish Lions international carving out his early coaching career down under.

But he does share much in common with a number of his predecessors.

Parling's two Premiership titles in six years with Tigers came while playing under Cockerill, himself a decorated former Leicester player, who was in the top job for nearly eight years.

Then there is McKellar, who, like Parling, left his job as an assistant coach with Australia in 2023 to take the helm at Leicester. He lasted just one season in the job.

After McKellar's departure, it was reported that he had lost the confidence of senior Tigers player.

Ben Youngs – a five-time Premiership title winner with Leicester, who retired after last season's defeat by Bath in the final – admitted that he had been one of the senior players to talk to club management about McKellar's role.

It highlighted what player power there is at Tigers, somewhere renowned for bringing through one-club players of legendary status.

Youngs and Dan Cole retired from rugby union as Leicester greats, but also as the two most capped male England players in history.

And while those two were among a high-profile group to move on in the summer, with captain Julian Montoya and two-time World Cup winning South Africa fly-half Handre Pollard also leaving, Parling says Tigers' aims for future success need to come from the same foundations of commitment.

"I believe in cohesion," Parling said.

"I believe if you get good players and you can keep them together for a long period of time, then in general that leads to good performances and winning rugby."

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After a summer in which 16 players departed, Parling came in, and defence coach Mike Forshaw lasted only months in the job before leaving for personal reasons, the focus has been on how Tigers have been reshaped.

James O'Conner, the Australian playmaker who was recalled by the Wallabies at the age of 35 in the summer, was among seven players signed after the season ended.

They join a Leicester side now led by captain Ollie Chessum, the 25-year-old who came through the Tigers academy and has gone on to play for England and tour with the British and Irish Lions.

Another of the homegrown internationals in Jack van Poortvliet – a player that succeeded Ben Youngs for club and county – is Chessum's vice-captain alongside Hanro Liebenberg – who has captained Tigers on numerous occasions in six years with the club.

"I've seen enough of this team to know they can do something. We need to prove to everybody what we are actually about," Parling said.

"My job is to show them where they can go and I really hope that can take this season, pick it up and take it somewhere."

Leicester begin their 2025-26 Prem Rugby campaign with a trip to Bristol Bears on Sunday (15:30 BST).