Failure to return to top flight sees Leeds count cost

Leeds Carnegie chief executive Gary Hetherington is reviewing the entire club’s performance as they confront a future without almost £1m in parachute payments.

For the first time in three attempts, Leeds this season failed to win an immediate return to the Premiership after relegation.

They even missed the Championship semi-finals after struggling to progress from their group.

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The West Yorkshire club had earmarked an instant promotion but fell well short to leave question marks over their sustainability as a top-tier outfit.

However, Hetherington insists he will not make any knee-jerk reactions and expects to reveal more about the club’s long-term vision in a fortnight.

In a statement, Hetherington said: “Firstly, we have to accept and recognise we have now had two consecutive seasons of under-performance and under-achievement.

“In two years, we have gone from the country’s 10th top team to 18th and inevitably have lost support and confidence from our stakeholders along the way.

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“It is, therefore, time to reflect, take stock and come up with a strategy and plan which clearly shows where we are trying to get to and how we are going to get there.”

The Yorkshire Post understands ex-Leeds Tykes and Wasps winger David Doherty, former Wharfedale scrum-half James Doherty and lock Matt Smith will all arrive from Cornish Pirates as part of the squad re-building.

But overall philosophy and strategy, rugby department budget, coaching staff changes, partnership with other clubs plus ticket pricing are all areas Hetherington will investigate.

That seemed to suggest head coach Diccon Edwards may be under pressure but Hetherington said: “There’s not too much to read into that.

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“When we brought Diccon in last year on a three-year deal part of the attraction was we recognised our Academy which, in years gone by had been a real strength of the club, had been allowed to slip.

“We wanted him to bring it back and integrate youngsters with the first team. That’s one area which has improved significantly and, in addition, we’ve got our Academy very much back on track.

“But we need to have a detailed review at the end of every season to see where we are strong and weak. It’s not a reaction to falling short.

“We do it with Leeds Rhinos too including last October just after we’d won the Grand Final. It just flags up areas needed to be concentrated on.

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“Diccon and rugby operations manager Chris Gibson will present a full and detailed debrief of the playing performance to myself and I will be working closely with them both to look at what changes may need to be made.”

Central to his plans is advancing links with other Yorkshire clubs.

“I think 10 or 12 years ago, every club in the county looked at Leeds Tykes as their rivals,” added Hetherington. “But now we’ve set up plenty of links, particularly with player development, at clubs such as Otley and Wharfedale.

“We want to make those much stronger but also link with maybe four or five clubs strategically placed through the county where we can help each other in terms of not only player development but corporate strategy and marketing.

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“We’ve spoken to Hull Ionians but that invite is one that is open to all.”

Undeniably, Leeds will have to cut their budget but Hetherington maintains there are positive aspects as numerous big earners are now off the books.

“The money we receive is reduced significantly and we’ve a vested interest in trying to develop the business as we can only spend what we earn,” he said.

“But, at the same time, we actually inherited a lot of legacy costs this season. That’s because two years ago we finished 10th in the Premiership and the season after Exeter were coming up so we knew we had to consolidate.

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“We gave out some long-term contracts but, unfortunately, that wasn’t to be as we got relegated.

“We’ve had to dump quite a lot Premiership contracts into this season’s budget and carry that burden but they’ve all expired now.”

Leeds have already announced 15 players will be leaving during the summer, including senior squad members Mike MacDonald, Lee Blackett, Lachlan MacKay, Scott Barrow and Sean Hohneck.

When asked whether Leeds can ever sustain a viable club intent on Premiership rugby – they have been relegated three times since 2006 – Hetherington said: “We want to be able to give a very clear, unequivocal statement about where we’re going. Those questions will be answered but, at the moment, one thing I can say is there is a real commitment to be the very best we can be.”

Doncaster Knights second-row Glen Kenworthy, 38, has retired to become the club’s head coach under director of rugby Brett Davey.