Like its equivalent in football, the Guinness Premiership has become an increasingly cosmopolitan place in the past few years, drawing players from far and wide. But whereas English football has been dominated by foreign managers in the past decade, most English rugby clubs have remained resolutely Anglophone in their appointment of coaches. There have been Australians and New Zealanders aplenty, but few coaches for whom English is not the first language.

Philippe Saint-Andre, who led Sale Sharks to the Premiership title two years ago, has been the notable exception, but he learnt from mistakes he had made at Gloucester. Having employed Laurent Seigne, a fellow Frenchman, as his assistant at Kingsholm, he chose an English speaker when he appointed Kingsley Jones to work alongside him at Sale.

Rugby's arcane complexities make communication difficult and in his first season as Leicester head coach, Marcelo Loffreda has admitted that his lack of English hampered attempts to impose himself at Welford Road. “I need to get better at English to say technical things,” he said shortly after his arrival. “If I could speak in Spanish, it would be a lot easier.”

Leicester stuttered through their first couple of months under the former Argentina coach, failing to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup for the first time in four years. Loffreda opted not to use an interpreter early on, reasoning that he would learn the language more quickly if he had to think for himself.

But he has learnt quickly and, as his English has gradually gained in fluency, so Leicester's season has gathered momentum. This afternoon they have the opportunity to win a first trophy under their new head coach when they face Ospreys in the EDF Energy Cup final at Twickenham. After those early difficulties, it would mean a great deal for Loffreda to provide the Leicester supporters with the silverware that they have come to expect.

“I knew the expectations before signing the contract,” he said. “This was the challenge that made the job more exciting. Yes, it is frustrating not to have been part of the Heineken Cup. But this [the Ospreys game] is a good opportunity for us to demonstrate that we are capable of playing in this sort of game.”

In previous years the ability of the English champions to compete at the highest level would have been taken for granted, but this season was always likely to involve an element of transition. After leading Argentina to the semi-finals of the World Cup, Loffreda arrived at Welford Road in November to take over from Richard Cockerill, the forwards coach, who had held the reins temporarily since the departure of Pat Howard, Loffreda's predecessor, in May.

As well as missing the start of the season, Loffreda's preparations for the World Cup with Argentina had meant that he was unable to spend much time developing his English. “When he first came here it was difficult because it took him ages to say anything, but he's been improving all the time,” Cockerill said.

Although there were difficulties speaking to a group, Loffreda's communication with individuals has always been excellent, according to Andy Goode, the fly half. “One on one, I've never had a problem with his language,” Goode said. “We sit down every week, he tells me what I've done well and not done so well and the language has never been an issue.”

And if Loffreda leads Leicester to their first trophy of the season this afternoon, he will have made the clearest possible statement that the club's fortunes are in safe hands.