Stuart Lancaster tips the man to replace Sean O'Brien
A little under three years ago, Stuart Lancaster was an unemployed rugby coach with the ugly feat of overseeing England’s worst-ever World Cup performance the most recent accomplishment on his CV.
A little under three years ago, Leinster’s stars had ended their Champions Cup campaign with six points, scoring five tries and conceding 17 in a miserable pool stage, before being filleted by Connacht in the Pro12 final.
Leo Cullen, their coach, sought innovation and invigoration. Lancaster sought something similar. It began with a chance phone call and has culminated in a glut of trophies.
Lancaster became “senior coach” at the province. His first game in the set-up was a Pro12 curtain-raiser at Scotstoun, a riveting contest owned by Tommy Seymour, who scored four tries in Glasgow’s 33-25 victory.
“I saw enough in that week to think, this has been the right move,” Lancaster said. “I knew they were a great group of players, I was impressed with their attitude from the first minute and from a family point of view, it worked, I could commute from Leeds to Dublin relatively easily. One year became two and then three years and now I’ve signed for another two.”
Lancaster’s influence has been significant. In the last two seasons, Leinster have been in four finals and won three of them. A Champions Cup and Pro14 double in 2018; runners-up in Europe and champions again in the league in 2019. His first match came in Glasgow and so too has his most recent, Saturday’s thunderous victory over the Warriors before a raucous and belligerent Celtic Park.
At Leinster, he is surrounded by rugby galacticos, but he has loved their willingness to improve and the absence of ego.
“One thing I’ve found about the players over in Ireland is that they’re very hungry to learn and get better and they’re open-minded,” he said.
“One of the values we want in the club is humility and part of being humble is that you can learn from other people. I was lucky in that I had 50-odd games of experience as an England coach, you learn a lot by playing against the best teams in the world, and that combined with their open-mindedness helps the team grow, I think.
“We played 57 players [this season] and scored 95 tries. The 95 tries weren’t just scored with the best team, the team full of Ireland internationals. The 95 tries were scored with a spread of 57 players.
“It’s not the fact we have to give them game time, they earn it, and one of the key things we do really well is give them opportunities in training to develop so when they come to games, they’re ready. That’s the secret, really.”
Leinster bid farewell to two Lions and two giants of their pack this summer. Sean O’Brien, the monstrous flanker, is bound for London Irish, while prop Jack McGrath is shifting to Ulster.
Neither played at Celtic Park, O’Brien injured and McGrath not selected. But O’Brien, a colossus of Irish rugby for an age, was summoned to the podium to the lift the trophy together with captain Jonny Sexton.
“I never got the chance to really coach him, he was at his best with the Lions and in my time with Leinster he’s been injured a lot,” Lancaster said.
“You’d just love to have coached him more. Jamie Heaslip is similar. But I’ve been so impressed with his personality, his integrity, his leadership, his desire to want to improve and he raises the standards of everyone around him.
“People talk about, what’s his point of difference? His point of difference is how he makes everyone else feel in the squad. It’s testament to his influence that he was given the trophy to raise because I don’t think anyone doubts his influence over the last 10-15 years.
“We’ll miss Sean and Jack, but you’ve got the likes of Ed Byrne who came on today, back-row wise, Max Deegan, Dan Leavy will come back from injury, Caelan Doris is outstanding for us, Scott Penny, the under-20s open-side, I think he’s a little Sean O’Brien, he’s going to be a great player.
“The show rolls on with Leinster and that’s a great credit to the academy and the quality of players coming through the system.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
21 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
12 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
12 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
5 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
25 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
5 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
37 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
37 Go to comments