I'll never forget my first encounter with Dean Richards. I was coming down the tunnel at the Parc des Princes for my Five Nations debut against England in 1996, at the tender age of 19, and there he was, part of a fearsome generation of English forwards of the Mickey Skinner and Brian Moore mould, looking so grim that for a moment I thought about high-tailing it out of the stadium.

That was about as close as I got to him, as during the match I made sure I didn't go anywhere near where he was on the pitch, so I didn't get much chance to work out how he played. But he was an extraordinary ball handler, far more than a mere bulldozer relying on physical strength.

He was scary physically, but there was nothing he could not do with the ball. At every kick-off it was as if there was an invisible thread connecting the ball to him. He didn't go after it, it came to him, and that's the mark of a great player. In defence, his physical presence was important as well.

What Richards has done at Leicester in the last few years, in which they have dominated English rugby, is to transmit the rigour that set him apart as a player to a whole new generation of players. It could be said that he was lucky that he started with a strong nucleus in the pack, but from that base he's built a homogeneous team.

The good players have stayed, and he's shown the ability to transform players, such as Andy Goode, who was completely unknown a few years ago, and Tim Stimpson, who nobody wanted before he went to Leicester but who should now be a natural choice as England full-back.

It's easy to say they are good players now that they are winning every game, but it's not so easy to actually get them there.

I noticed that at the end of the game on Saturday, Richards didn't look particularly happy that his team had just taken their fourth championship. His mind was probably on the next thing, on Europe, and that reminded me of the feelings we had at Toulouse when we won the French championship four times in a row. We only really appreciated it when we didn't win it the fifth year.

Richards clearly coaches teams in the same direct way that he used to play, but he's also got a highly astute rugby brain. His great strength is that he knows how to move forward and has recognised the need to evolve, and that's the great trick in any walk of life, be it business or sport. If you stand still and are happy with where you are, you end up going backwards.

For example, I've heard that at Leicester they are just bringing in a new computer video system, designed by Hewlett Packard, which will enable them to analyse the players' actions as they play, so that there can be feedback during the match. The match video can be cut on the computer so that each individual player can be given the bits the coaches want him to see, in the areas they want him to work on.

The best example of evolution on the ground at Leicester has been in their back play. I remember playing them with Toulouse in the European Cup a few years ago, when they were nothing like the team they are now. They had a lot to offer up front, but nothing behind the scrum. Richards has changed that completely, by gently bringing in the right players and developing a few new ones such as Ollie Smith. I'd say that Leicester are the best team in England now in the backs as well as the forwards.

Another thing that Deano was known for in France as a player was the fact that his socks were always around his ankles. It was not considered very stylish in France, but if Richards was not a prince of elegance then, he was a king of pure efficiency. The Leicester team he has created is the image of the man.

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