Lancaster 'badly burnt by his time in England' - O'Driscoll

Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster’s success should not tempt them into seeking a fresh challenge away from Leinster, says Brian O’Driscoll.

Leinster enjoyed an historic 2017-18 campaign, becoming the first side to win the double of Pro14 and European Champions Cup titles.

O’Driscoll was part of three Heineken Cup-winning sides during his 15 years at Leinster, but was never able to combine continental success with domestic dominance.

Head coach Cullen and senior coach Lancaster have earned fulsome praise for their stellar work at the RDS Arena – the latter rebuilding a reputation that took a hit following England’s failure to progress beyond the group stage at the 2015 World Cup on home soil.

And O’Driscoll sees no reason why either man should seek pastures new when they enjoy such a successful working relationship in their current roles.

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— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) May 26, 2018

“They’re in a really good set-up. People are always in a hurry to move people on to the next level or the bigger stage,” HSBC ambassador O’Driscoll told Omnisport.

“If you find yourself in a good environment with good players and a good combination…I don’t think there’s any egos, and that works well.

“I don’t think if I was either of them I’d be in a hurry to go off to something bigger. I think Stuart felt quite badly burnt by his time in England and I don’t know what his aspirations are like to coach internationally again.

“I’m sure he’d like to do a head coaching job himself in time but he’s been working wonders with Leinster. He seems to really enjoy it and his combination with Leo works extremely well so there’s no hurry from both of their perspectives to go into another role when you’re doing one of the best jobs in Europe and your team is going well.

“Leo is in the infancy of his coaching career, he’s only been a head coach three seasons. He’s still on a steep learning curve and understanding how to do the role and he’s had success very early so clearly he’s doing something right.

“I think he’s a bit of a workaholic, I don’t think he does much switching off. His wife and my wife are good friends and we’ve been around them and he takes his role extremely seriously and lives and breathes it. Sometimes that can take its toll but while you’re winning and the going’s good you’ve got to ride that wave.”

O’Driscoll was speaking at the HSBC London Sevens event at Twickenham, and feels the smaller-sided game’s progression to becoming an Olympic sport has made it more reputable. 

“It was noticeable in Dubai the anticipation around it after Rio,” he said. “I think now the circuit is brilliant and there’s some incredible destinations. The flagship of Hong Kong is as good as ever and Dubai is one of my favourite events.

“The quality is getting better and better and the appreciation of the athleticism of these men and women who play sevens is starting to grow among the public as they’ve got more knowledgeable on the game.”

Brian O’Driscoll was speaking at the HSBC London Sevens on behalf of HSBC. The title sponsor of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series is working in partnership with World Rugby to reach new fans, support the growth of Rugby Sevens worldwide and fulfil their shared goal of helping the sport thrive in the long term.