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Ex-England boss Lancaster has spoken about RFU's post-Jones plan
By Kim Ekin
Ex-England boss Stuart Lancaster has backed the RFU’s vision to recruit an English head coach when Eddie Jones steps down following the 2023 World Cup in France. The Australian replaced Lancaster in the role following the 2015 World Cup, becoming the first overseas coach to take on that position.
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Lancaster has since re-established himself as a driving force at the Irish province Leinster and more than six years after he was shunted aside, he expressed satisfaction that England will now look to recruit an indigenous head coach with one proviso – that the support staff will have diversity in opinion and experience.
Speaking during an appearance on the BBC Rugby Union Weekly podcast, Lancaster said: “I wouldn’t disagree that you want stability and ideally an English flavour and an English coach. “I was proud – as we all were – to coach the national team, and I felt a huge sense of responsibility to do right for the team and also do right for the country.
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“You probably feel that deeply when it is your country. So I think it is important, but I don’t think the whole coaching team has to be all-English, necessarily. I do think a little bit of diversity in there wouldn’t be a bad thing. But you definitely want an English feel to it.”
It was September 2016 when Lancaster arrived in Irish to commence what has been a hugely successful stint as senior coach at Leinster. He has since been regularly linked with vacancies in the Gallagher Premiership but hasn’t yet been tempted even though he is aware of the need not to overstay his welcome in Dublin.
“Probably for a lot of coaches there is a natural cut-off point (in 2023),” he explained on the show. “But it is going to take a strong argument to leave Leinster because it is such an enjoyable role. What goes through your mind when you have been (at the same place) a while, is: ‘Is the message getting stale? Are players bored with hearing the same delivery and training sessions?’
“Leo and I would speak about it and we are both aware of that. But having said that, if the players are still saying ‘no, we are motivated’, it is a very hard place to leave. The reality is I am 52, not 72, so I hopefully have a few more years to go. But I love it, genuinely love it at Leinster and it will be a hard place to leave.”
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