What Stuart Lancaster said when asked if he would coach England again
Eight years after getting unceremoniously sacked as England boss following the Rugby World Cup, Stuart Lancaster has suggested that working with his country’s national team is something he would consider doing again in the future.
It was in early September 2015, in the wake of a pre-tournament win over Ireland, that Lancaster declared England were capable of triumphing at the finals, but they were eliminated after playing just three of their four pool matches.
That resulted in Lancaster being replaced by Eddie Jones, but he went on to restore his reputation as a high-calibre coach following his September 2016 arrival at Leinster.
That seven-year stint as senior coach at the Irish province ended last May with defeat in the Heineken Champions Cup final and he has now taken up a director of rugby role at Racing 92.
During his lengthy stay in Dublin, Lancaster regularly used LinkedIn to share his thoughts on leadership to his 42,000-plus followers and despite his recent move from Ireland to France, he promised to continue this sharing and has now released his first hour-long vlog from Paris.
TRANSFERS: Stuart Lancaster has revealed his Racing recruits include the in-demand Arundell. He has also confirmed his staff and updated the status of England winger Christan Wade. #TOP14 #EnglandRugby https://t.co/Yh6wnzCEh0
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 1, 2023
His wide-ranging conversation included his thought process on why he took up the offer from Racing, adding that he would be open to returning to Leinster in the future if an opportunity arose. That answer led to a question about whether he would ever go back to the England national team.
“I left in different circumstances; that changes things a bit,” he began. “There is a great young group coming through. My son Dan played for the U20s and there is a brilliant age group coming through.
“If you ask my wife, she might question my sanity if I said yes. There are probably other parts of the world I would love to coach in as well. The southern hemisphere would be a big challenge for me. I’d love to go and coach in Super Rugby in some shape, way or form or international rugby down in the southern hemisphere.
“So, you’d never say never but I think it’s not top of the list and certainly, I think Steve Borthwick will keep the job until 2027. I’m committed here (at Racing) until 2027 so let’s see.
“I don’t think you should never say never. I don’t think you should ever be so hurt or so damaged that you could never go back somewhere. If the political will is there and the time is right, I’d hate to be so hurt or angry about certain things that would stop me from doing certain things. I don’t want to be that kind of person.”
Lancaster had the chance to stay on at Leinster under Leo Cullen but he felt the time was right for him to step up to being a No1 coach again. “Deep, deep down, I was weighing up in my mind I was almost at capacity here with the job I am doing and managing the commute from Leeds to Dublin, managing family dynamics, son, daughter, wife, mum, you know, all that stuff that goes on outside of work…
“I knew I put myself in that position, but I didn’t want to sit back at the end of my career and think what if? So, the challenge of going to the Top 14, the challenge of learning French, the challenge of an organisation like Racing and trying to improve it to the consistent quality of Leinster was too tempting to turn down in the end.
“It was a little bit of right time, right place to leave Leinster for Leinster’s development but also for my own personal development. From the (Racing) approach to me saying yes prior to any contract talk took three weeks…
“Tough decision but eventually I made it and the difficult decision then was communicating the decision to the players and staff of Leinster. I found that very difficult. That was done in September, and we cracked on. I’m in Paris now… but you never know I might come back in the future.”
In his message on LinkedIn launching the new vlog, Lancaster wrote: “Having moved to France now I mentioned in my last post if anyone was interested in following the challenges of changing roles and moving to a new country, I was going to create some form of blog with lessons learned along the way.
“I wasn’t sure initially how to do it but with the help of Feargal O’Rourke, former managing partner of PWC Ireland, we have created a ‘Leaders on Leaders’ video where Feargal and I chat about the new role and how it is all going during my second week here in Paris.
“We plan to do one a month over the first year to chart the ups and downs of leading teams and if you are interested in taking a listen, please click on the link below.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Great to see NZ 7s teams finally coming into form and playing at the level that is expected of them.
2 Go to commentsChief Cheapshot on the market again.
1 Go to commentsCrusaders went all in to buy Hotham and Kemara staight from Hamilton Boys. Then they picked up Reihana and Hohepa; all have been dropped for superstar Havili, who is a very good fullback, that’s it. Ennor and Goodhue were schoolboy stars too but went backwards at the Crusaders. Maybe they have finally decided to give another poach Levi Aumua the ball?
10 Go to commentsJoe S has some talent to pick from. The Reds loosies look the best in Super? Aus might just give Razor a headache this year. Int. experience v Cantab greenhorn:) Should be fun.
10 Go to commentsEnd to end play, “THE FANS” this game was entertainment of the best. The conditions added to the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsSorry to say, but sadly the sadas were just ordinary and havilli at 10 as an abs selection just won’t cut it. He’s better suited in the centre’s and is a victim of past charge down kicks, he’s too slow under pressure. There’s better talent further north and I don’t mean dmac however I believe razor will sort him out. A feature of his presents on the park is the fact that the guys will follow him.
10 Go to commentsMarler was brilliant throughout both in the scrum and open play. His slap made virtually no contact with Ramos who milked it for a penalty when he could have been a decent sportsman and laughed it off, it was non-violent and shouldn't have been penalised. Smith failed repeatedly to kick when necessary and put up a couple of bombs into the TLS 22 that just handed back possession at key moments to the other side.
3 Go to commentsCros was outstanding and rightly awarded France TVs player of the match award. Mallia was brilliant as usual (the y is below the 6 on a UK keyboard and he deserves better than that). Level also seems to have been scored harshly as he walked the ball into touch under pressure from a Lynagh kick from well outside his own half which should never have led to a 50-22. Agree with BullShark that Dupont, while class at times, seemed to go missing for patches in the second half with props, hookers and wings frequently filling in at 9 as he couldn't get off the deck and up to the next ruck on time. A 7 by his standards at best, his kicking was also too long, too often. Kinghorn's overall contribution was worth well more than a five.
3 Go to commentsThe Harlequins team must be in minus figures. Did the reporter actually watch the game?
3 Go to commentsHow on earth did Walker escape a red card? Not dangerous? Dupont has his face in a mask earlier this season. Shocking decision. What is the point of TMOs? We had the Fassi ‘non-penalty try’ yesterday and now this.
2 Go to commentsCould have been a different result but yet again French tv able to affect the result by not showing the very clear high shot on harlequin centre if this would have been on a French player would have been on screen at least five times
3 Go to commentsAmazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
3 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
2 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
3 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
2 Go to comments