“We never had a lot of money so to finish in the top four against big clubs was a magnificent achievement, but also it was the style of rugby,” Tony Jenkinson, Rotherham’s team manager, said. “He played a style of rugby that was alien to Rotherham. We were traditionally a forward-orientated team while Lee likes to get the ball into the hands and get it moved and he got the buy-in to do that. He got us really fit and put a big emphasis on catch and pass in training and under pressure the skill set held up. Everyone knew we were going to go for it and I think in two years, we were on Sky Sports 10 times.”
In 2015, Blackett joined Wasps as their attack coach. The difference in environments could not have been starker. From coaching on a shoestring at Rotherham, Blackett was suddenly managing talent – and egos – of the stature of Danny Cipriani, Willie Le Roux and Kurtley Beale.
“We had a team stacked with world-class individuals and a lot of opinions and a lot of good ones,” Marcus Watson, the Wasps winger, said. “That’s a hard challenge in itself to hear those opinions without it being chaotic. But Lee let the whole thing run. That’s a huge skill as a coach. He will listen to players and how they want to play. It is not what Lee says goes.”
After succeeding Dai Young as head coach in February 2020 with the club in 10th place, Blackett guided Wasps to an astonishing run of 12 wins in 13 matches, which only ended in defeat by Exeter in the Premiership final. Two years later, Wasps were in administration and Blackett was out of a job, which is how he ended up working alongside Davies with the Scarlets in November 2022.
While the spell only lasted a matter of months before he was snapped up by Bath, Blackett credits his time in West Wales for reaffirming many of his principles as an attack coach, working with a completely new group of players. He also left a lasting impression on former Wales centre Davies, among others.
“I absolutely loved working with him,” Davies said. “What struck me the most was that he was an absolute student of the game. He lived and breathed it. His knowledge of the game up there with the best I have ever worked with. He was also exceptional at generating that buy-in, in wanting to play a certain way and holding us accountable. That’s one of the greatest skills you can have as a coach because when you have a group of players who truly believe in what you are promoting, then that is the hardest part.”
From speaking to associates at Rotherham to Scarlets, what comes across is how much confidence Blackett gives players. “If you make a good decision, even if it does not come off, then he will back you,” Watson said. “He gives you the belief that you can back your instincts.” At times, Blackett butted heads with Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan, a naturally conservative coach, about where and when they could play rugby, but their eventual alignment resulted in Bath winning a treble of trophies last season.
