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Stuart Lancaster has left Racing 92 effective immediately

Racing92's English coach Stuart Lancaster gestures prior to the French Top 14 rugby union match between Castres Olympique and Racing 92 at The Pierre-Fabre Stadium in Castres, south-western France on September 7, 2024. (Photo by Valentine CHAPUIS / AFP)

Stuart Lancaster has left his position as head coach of Racing 92 with immediate effect following a difficult run of form.

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While the French club have yet to confirm it, reports began swirling on Thursday night that the Englishman was set for a sudden exit. Planet Rugby reported this morning that they understood that he had left the club effective immediately and RugbyPass have since had the news confirmed.

The former England and Leinster coach departs the Parisian outfit midway through the 2024/25 campaign, with Racing 92 languishing in 12th place in the Top 14 after winning just five of their 15 league matches.

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France stun New Zealand – RWC 1999 semi final | RPTV

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    France stun New Zealand – RWC 1999 semi final | RPTV

    Jonah Lomu delivered a stunning performance in the 1999 Rugby World Cup semi-final, but France pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in rugby history. You can watch a full replay of the match on the new RugbyPass app.

    The club also struggled in European competition, winning only two of their five Investec Champions Cup pool matches before dropping into the Challenge Cup knockouts.

    Owen Farrell – who was the club’s marquee summer signing in 2024 – has been branded a flop which further damaged Lancaster’s chances of staying on in Paris. The former Leeds coach was also criticised in some quarters for starting his son [Dan Lancaster] at 10 during Farrell’s injury layoff.

    The 55-year-old’s departure is no surprise given it follows on the back of growing speculation over his future in recent months, with reports emerging earlier this week that Racing 92 were considering a coaching change. Former La Rochelle and Toulon coach Patrick Collazo is widely expected to take charge on an interim basis.

    Collazo – who began his coaching career with Racing 92’s academy – has been out of work since leaving Montpellier in 2023.

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    Lancaster has been linked with a return to Ireland with Munster. The Irish province are reportedly considering him as a potential replacement for Graham Rowntree.

    Lancaster had previously dismissed speculation over a move back to Ireland, labelling reports as “false” in an interview with French media.

    During his tenure at Leinster between 2016 and 2023, Lancaster was credited with helping shape the province into one of Europe’s dominant forces.

    The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and Munster have yet to comment on whether Lancaster is under consideration. IRFU performance director David Humphreys last week stated that the search for Rowntree’s successor remained ongoing.

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    Racing 92 are next in action on February 15, when they face RC Vannes in a crucial Top 14 encounter as they look to move clear of the relegation battle.

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    Comments

    37 Comments
    O
    Oh no, not him again? 27 days ago

    Stuart Lancaster is not a politician. He reminds me of Ned Stark in more ways than one.

    B
    Bull Shark 27 days ago

    Fat. Transparent.

    J
    JW 27 days ago

    French rugby?

    S
    Sumkunn Tsadmiova 27 days ago

    The order of La Botte!

    M
    Mark 27 days ago

    French club owners are akin to premier football club owners, they don't hesitate to wield the axe if the results they perceive their squad deserves don't materialise.

    It's a tough coaching environment.

    J
    J Marc 27 days ago

    It depends of the club....

    Selecting your very ordinary own son is a tough coaching too. Not speaking a single word of french after a year and an half is not an evidence of involvment. After about the same time, Jack Willis speaks in french with referee as a captain. ROG is not Moliere, but he try hard...

    And for Racing, without Fickou and Le Garrec currently, it is not the same side . O Farrell has bien injured and not at his best for his return after beeing a ghost for the begining of the season .

    R
    RedWarrior 27 days ago

    It is notoriously difficult to succeed in France. Lancaster is a proven coach. I hope he comes back to Ireland.

    f
    fl 27 days ago

    he could make a decent B&I Lions attack coach!

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    Comments on RugbyPass

    R
    RedWarriors 22 minutes ago
    The Springbok selection experiment is far from over

    SA won two world cups but since 1987 there have been major issues with the draw and scheduling.


    Lets look at Scotland and England. Scotland were ranked #9 immediately after RWC 2019.

    They were ranked #7 a few months after and by 2023 they were ranked #5 in the world.

    England were ranked #3 after RWC 2019 but by 2023 were #7 a full 3 ranking points behind Scotland.

    There are 4 Pools. Because World Rugby used rankings from 2019, England were ranked #1 in their pool in with Argentina and Japan and Scotland were ranked #3 in their pool in with South Africa and Ireland. The pools went as youd expect: Scotland were eliminated and England got through to a QF where they got to play Fiji and scraped through to a semi.

    At the end of that tournament England were now a full 3 ranking points ahead of Scotland. This wasn’t due to better rugby. It was entirely due to the draw.

    Now England are in #6, Scotland are in #7 and England are favourites to be #1 Pool seeds (6 pool) in 2027 and Scotland will end up as #2 seeds.

    In effect Scotland are still reeling from the draw in 2023 which was based on the rankings in 2027.

    Considering the amount of admirable effort, money etc that Scotland have put into improving this is an utterly unforgivable outcome from World Rugby.

    This isnt new Draw disasters and scheduling bias has been going on since the start.

    The ONLY reason it is being dealt with now is because NZ and SA were affected and the world could see how ridiculous it was having the QFs with opponents that should be in SFs, and having great teams like Scotland not even qualify from their Pool.


    (I don’t have beef with SA beyond their (and the Kiwis) high proportion of arrogant, brash supporters (see abuse directed at me above) and in the case of the NZ team, lack of respect for other teams.)

    34 Go to comments
    R
    RedWarriors 44 minutes ago
    The Springbok selection experiment is far from over

    Everyone agreed that the draw was absurd. NZ and SA were the most vocal in criticism before the Pool stages, but then the narrative changed after their squeeked through the QFs.

    The reason you had to play France and England was because you lost to Ireland.

    The draw helped you in that you got to play France in a QF where none of their players had knock-out winning experience. You play England first and then France, and your task becomes significantly harder. If you are also scheduled to play #5 ranked Scotland the week before France then you lose.


    I thought Ireland did rise for the NZ match. Inside a week after Scotland and with resultant fatigue and injury. NZ prepared for a year for that match including identifying a potential infringemnt in Porters scrummaging which yielded 4 penalties. The NZ scrum coach remarked that the ref spent every scrum looking at Porter and not at NZ front row. Kudos, thats clever.


    The fact we got within one score and went out attacking in their 22 shows we were right up for it. Particularly given NZ were so much better than SA in the final (except for the red).


    Hats off to SA. But the idea that SA are a match for the great NZ team of the 2010s is ludicrous. SA were not the best team in there pool in both 2029 and 2023. They are average in between world cups. They have lost in 4 out of 5 matches against one opponent. Sorry but there it is.


    (Anyone can spot a troll, using personal abuse against a person’s opinion being a pretty reliable indicator.)

    34 Go to comments
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    TRENDING Manu Tuilagi : en Angleterre c'est travail, en France c'est la sieste Manu Tuilagi : en Angleterre c'est travail, en France c'est la sieste
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