LANCASTER SO GLAD HE ANSWERED LEO’S CALL
Ex-England coach recalls chat that resurrected career
STUART LANCASTER was speaking at a coaching conference in London when he first became aware of an opportunity that would help resurrect a superb coaching career which one underwhelming World Cup with England had threatened to ruin.
Speaking as Leinster paraded their newly-acquired Champions Cup trophy around Donnybrook’s Energia Park yesterday, the former England boss cracked a wide smile as a remembered that initial contact with the club he would help restore to the peak of European rugby.
‘The number flashed up and I didn’t even recognise the area code, the +353,’ Lancaster recalled.
The voice at the other end was Leinster head coach Leo Cullen, who was preparing for his second season in the job following a difficult introduction to the head coach’s world.
‘You know that Leo is quite quietly spoken — he said “What are you up to?” I said, “Not much really”, and he said “Do you fancy coming to Leinster?”’
The squad, and head coach, were still trying to shake off the bruises of a season to forget, finishing rock bottom of their Champions Cup pool with only one win from six before losing the Pro12 final to provincial rivals Connacht.
As it happened, Lancaster found himself immediately keen on the project presented to him and took little persuading.
‘I flew over that weekend actually, on the Sunday. They played Treviso, the first game of the season, and I came over on my own and met Leo and Guy [Easterby, Head of Rugby Operations], and it all went from there really.
‘I went away, realised particularly that the commute would work from a family point of view. Obviously, I spoke to Andy Farrell [Ireland defence coach] about the quality of the team, and his enjoyment of working in Ireland, and that was it really.’
Despite the province’s not too distant time as serial winners, Lancaster found a group low on confidence and in need of guidance. He saw plenty of cracks, but also the bones of a top-quality team that he felt he could shape into winners once again.
‘My initial impression was forged on a pre-season [game] played here [in Donnybrook] against Bath and, then, we played Treviso. I went back through the Connacht [Pro12] final and the European pool games where they had lost against Wasps twice.
‘I knew Wasps really well, so I knew the style Wasps played.
‘They’re the ones I picked because I wanted to see where they struggled and understand the reasons why. It was clear for me from the outset that we could fix things up defensively.
‘As that began to take hold, we started to work on the attack, getting more variety in our game. We scored 90 tries in the league. We scored 30 tries in Europe. We had fantastic games all season. But we lost two semi-finals.
‘I felt that the progression we needed to make this year was to be more adaptable, to have different ways of winning. When you are playing against the best teams in Europe with the best players and the best coaches, you can’t just play one style and expect to win. That is the progression we’ve made this year.’
THAT much was evident on Saturday, where after the free-flowing attacking rugby that saw Leinster dismiss Saracens and Scarlets, the Blues were forced to grind out a narrow 15-12 win in greasy conditions, only taking the lead for the final two minutes of the game.
It ended a four-year trophy drought at the province, and Lancaster is confident that he and Cullen have many more successful days ahead of them with this young team.
‘I think we’re very similar in personality. He’d [Cullen] be very good on detail and is quite calm, very strong integrity, excellent management skills and is very honest.’
As the clock wound down in Bilbao, Cullen was caught by the television cameras wiping away a tear, but equally touching was the image of Lancaster with his family on the touchline following the final whistle.
‘It meant a huge amount for all my family and friends who have supported me,’ he admitted.
‘A lot of them stood right by my side after the [2015] World Cup, sent supportive texts and were always there saying, “I hope you get another opportunity.”
‘It’s nice for them, so many text messages after the game, hundreds of them from people saying things like, “Nice to see you with a trophy in your hand and a smile on your face”.’
As he turned away to pose for photographs with fans in Donnybrook yesterday, there was little doubt that Lancaster is happy he answered the phone when that unknown number flashed up at him two years ago.
‘To win in Europe you can’t play one style. We had to make that progression’