Unheralded when taking over the England job on an interim basis, CIARAN CRONINprofiles a coach that might just lose the prefix with a win against Ireland at Twickenham
SINCE SUNDAY, the cries have merged into a roar. So much so, England interim head coach Stuart Lancaster must be struggling to hear himself think such has been the cacophony of support calling for the prefix to be ditched from his title on the back of last weekend’s victory over France in Paris.
In a media environment where issues and causes tend to be recycled ad nauseam until something finally gives, the “Lancaster for England” crusade, judging by how these campaigns normally pan out, appears to have built up unstoppable momentum. Victory against Ireland this evening at Twickenham, therefore, might just be enough to land the 42-year-old the role on a permanent basis.
As ascensions go, Lancaster’s has been remarkable. On December 8th last, the day of his appointment as interim head coach, even the most seasoned observers of European rugby would not have known who he was; now, he is apparently ready to lead England towards the 2015 World Cup on home soil.
Born and bred on a farm in Culgaith, Cumbria, where his parents John and Ann still work and live, rugby has always played a part in Lancaster’s life, be that at the boarding school he attended, St Bee’s in Cumbria, or at Leeds Carnegie University, where he studied to be a PE teacher and played rugby with the local club.
Capped at under-19 and student level for Scotland on account of his mother’s heritage, Lancaster played in the backrow, either at seven or eight, and was an intelligent player, albeit one a little too small to have an impact at the highest level.
Still, Lancaster managed to play eight full seasons for Leeds – a sign of his determined attitude – before graduating to set up and run the club’s academy in 2000, a position he remained in until 2006, when he became director of rugby. In his first season in the job, Leeds won promotion to the Premiership but they returned to the second tier the following season.
That, though, didn’t stop Lancaster being whisked away by the RFU to replace Conor O’Shea as the union’s head of elite player development. After three years in the job, where Lancaster oversaw the England Saxons, under-20 and other underage sides, he was plonked in front of the media last December as the man in charge of the shop until a bigger, more experienced name could be recruited.
It was a rare logical step by the RFU, but Lancaster has now sown a seed of doubt in the union’s plans, one that has been eagerly grasped upon by English rugby’s opinion formers. His fresh voice has come as a welcome relief to many close observers, while many more have been impressed by his use of emotive phrases like “pride in the shirt”, or his promise to rebuild the “culture” within the squad.
Lancaster, it should be remembered, arrived into his role alongside a genuine public appetite for England’s players to be taken down a peg or two following their disastrous World Cup campaign, both on and off the pitch.
And in that context, perhaps his actions since his appointment should be viewed a different way. For example, rather than it being classified as an inspired move on Lancaster’s part to hold England’s pre-Six Nations training camp in drizzly Leeds rather than sunny Portugal, should it not be seen as the only sensible decision for him to take?
And rather than lauding the coach for his tough approach to behavioural issues in dropping Danny Care and Delon Armitage from his squad for various different brushes with the law, was it not, given what had gone on at the World Cup, the only realistic option Lancaster had before him?
That same logic can be extended to the coach’s selection policy. Rather than it being a massive gamble on Lancaster’s part to select the likes of Owen Farrell, Brad Barritt, Lee Dickson, Mouritz Botha, Phil Dowson, Ben Morgan, Geoff Parling and Chris Robshaw and assorted others, it was actually the only realistic course of action open to Lancaster given the form of the players available to him.
Likewise Lancaster’s selection of Robshaw as his captain. Choosing a player with just one previous cap as skipper might ordinarily be viewed as an extraordinary risk, but when, before the decision, the player’s candidature had been backed by widespread consensus, he was arguably the conservative option.
In reality, when stripped down, every decision Lancaster has made, every word he has uttered, has been a populist one. He has been preaching to the choir.
On the pitch, Lancaster hasn’t exactly been a revolutionary either, as Leicester backs coach Matt O’Connor wasn’t afraid to point out recently.
Shining a light on certain areas of England’s game these past few weeks is an interesting exercise. In their opening three Six Nations encounters against Scotland, Italy and Wales, England managed one line break per game. Against France, they managed three, giving them a total of six line breaks in four games.
Contrast this with Ireland, a side whose ingenuity has long been questioned, who have engineered 18 line breaks in their opening four games. Those statistics logically extend to tries scored – England have managed five, Ireland 13.
England have had to work harder in their games, too, being forced to make a total of 448 tackles in four games, compared to Ireland’s 399. In short, there has been nothing beyond the ordinary about England on the pitch this Six Nations campaign.
And yet, despite the difficulty in pinpointing what Lancaster has done out of the ordinary, there remains something likeable about him. Like many a coach who never played sport at the very highest level, he does not go about his business with a sense of entitlement.
Rob Vickerman, a current England Sevens international who worked under Lancaster at Leeds, tells a tale from back then that reveals much about the coach’s attitude to his job. “We took a hammering from the A team at Leeds and he came in for training, took us out on to the pitches and said, ‘We’re going to play a little game called follow the leader. It involved running for about four miles but he was at the front the entire time. That’s what he is about, always willing to do it himself.”
Enthusiastic, hard-working, proud and, as he’s shown, in tune with the public mood. But full-time England coach?
When the wind changes, as it tends to rather frequently in English rugby circles, it will be interesting to see if Lancaster has any more to give.
Words of wisdom: the Lancaster gospel
On team-building . . .
"Team-building goes in four stages. At the bottom is the culture and attitude – the reason why you're playing for the team. The next layer is your technical and tactical detail. Then it is down to individual preparation and talent. The final thing is the competitive fire that exists in every player, which makes them into winners."
On his values . . .
"I spent the first 20 years of my life on a small farm in Cumbria where you had to graft and work hard. And I spent the second 20 in Yorkshire where you get nowt for owt. I believe in hard work.
"Little things to me are important – things like being on time and being courteous at all times. There'll be no airs or graces in this camp or this team. If players don't tick the character and talent box then they won't get picked."
On credibility . . .
"Not having had a playing background of the highest level, you have to earn credibility in a different way as a coach. You have to put on good sessions, be a good manager of people and try to inspire and motivate. I work hard in those areas."
CIARÁN CRONIN
