Richard Cockerill has revealed two astonishing clauses he had in his contract as Georgia head coach \u2013 and how one of them led him to lose his job.<\/p>\n
In the week Wales bid to avoid a 13th straight Six Nations loss, the former England hooker also restates the case for the winners of Europe\u2019s second-tier competition to at least get a play-off shot at joining the championship.<\/p>\n
Cockerill<\/a>, 55, is back home in England following the abrupt ending of his two-year tenure in Tbilisi, where he led Georgia<\/a> to back-to-back Rugby Europe titles without dropping a match.<\/p>\n The two KPIs<\/p>\n But for a last-gasp penalty loss to Japan in November<\/a> he would have been in Amsterdam preparing Georgia to face the Netherlands in the defence of their title on Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my contract I had two KPIs,\u201d he reveals exclusively to Planet Rugby. \u201cOne was that I could never lose to a Tier 2 country. If I did, there was three months notice.<\/p>\n \u201cThe second was, in a calendar year, I had to beat a Tier 1 team. Yet when you sign the contract you don\u2019t actually know who you\u2019re playing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had fixtures against Ireland, South Africa and Japan. We lost to literally the last kick of the game against Japan. They used that to give me my three-month notice.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Japanese 10 misses that kick at goal and I\u2019m still in position.\u201d<\/p>\n Cockerill loved his time in Georgia; the warmth and hospitality of the people, the cosmopolitan feel of the capital city. Above all he appreciated the resilience of its rugby community to keep pushing against the locked door blocking their path to a seat at Europe\u2019s top table.<\/p>\n \u201cGeorgians are just asking for an opportunity,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re a pretty proud nation. They love their rugby, they\u2019re good people. They\u2019ve worked hard, in the last 20 years, to get their game where it is today. They\u2019ve won 13 of the last 14 Rugby Europe titles.<\/p>\n \u201cBut they\u2019re at the glass ceiling, aren\u2019t they? Without a Six Nations play-off there is no pathway to the top.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd without that 90 per cent of their successful Under-20s programme will go to France. For the rugby, the money but also because after five years they are eligible to apply for French citizenship, which gives them a European passport enabling them to travel freely into Europe.<\/p>\n \u201cImagine 18, 19, 20 of the England U20s every year leaving England. That\u2019s what\u2019s happening with Georgia.\u201d<\/p>\n Cockerill continues: \u201cDo I feel rugby has let down Georgia? I don\u2019t necessarily want to cause headlines, but tell me what is the mechanism to prove they can compete, where is the opportunity?<\/p>\n \u201cBlack Lion joining the URC [United Rugby Championship] is probably the only thing that can develop Georgian rugby beyond where it is at the moment. That, and a mechanism for them to play more Tier 1 teams.\u201d<\/p>\n Scotland are demonstrably worse by every measurable metric than England but the script has been written<\/a><\/p>\n Frustrations<\/p>\n Neither of which is imminent. Meanwhile, Wales carry on losing. It is now three years since the land of the Dragon won a match in the Six Nations, a run of defeats highly likely to be extended by France on Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course it\u2019s frustrating,\u201d Cockerill adds. \u201cLet\u2019s be honest, if Georgia, with their best team, played Wales this weekend, it would be a tight game, wouldn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n \u201cDo I think Georgia will ever be let into the Six Nations? I think it\u2019s going to be very difficult. The biggest hope is probably not to replace anyone. It is that the tournament is expanded to seven or eight teams, potentially with South Africa.<\/p>\n \u201cThere needs to be some recognition that emerging rugby nations need an opportunity to grow. It happened with Italy and Fiji and look how they have benefited.<\/p>\n \u201cFor whatever reason Georgia don\u2019t seem to be fashionable enough to be granted that opportunity. It\u2019s not about being\u00a0given\u00a0a spot, but a chance to\u00a0prove\u00a0you\u2019re good enough.<\/p>\n \u201cI know the plan is for promotion and relegation in the new Nations Cup but that won\u2019t be before 2030.<\/p>\n \u201cSo while Georgia are stuck in the second tier, Italy and Fiji and all the others are getting better, aren\u2019t they? Because, inevitably, if you\u2019re not moving forward, you\u2019re falling behind the top 10 or 11 teams.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the other sides in the second tier, the likes of Spain, Portugal, Uruguay and Chile are all going to start to catch up.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe that suits World Rugby<\/a> because then they can say, \u2018Well, told you so, you\u2019re not as good as you think you are\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n England team: Five takeaways as \u2018chosen duo\u2019 backed to \u2018nail down\u2019 partnership while Pom Squad \u2018value\u2019 clear to see<\/a><\/p>\n Rumours and links<\/p>\n Georgia\u2019s fate is no longer Cockerill\u2019s responsibility, though he retains a strong allegiance to those he worked alongside and the nation they represent.<\/p>\n He has been linked with roles at Brive and Connacht but insists he has had no contact with the former and will not be applying for the latter.<\/p>\n