Lancaster confident he can help players recapture form
NEVER before have the Ireland players been as relieved to see the back of the notorious bubble at Carton House, as they begin to filter back to their clubs this week.
The saving grace is that all four provinces have European quarterfinals to look forward to next weekend, which means that the page will quickly turn.
It has been an intense couple of months on and off the field but there is barely time to dwell on the Six Nations disappointment as the focus moves towards provincial matters.
Leinster’s internationals are due to return to training tomorrow as preparations ramp up for next week’s mouthwatering Champions Cup clash against Ulster.
Chief among Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster’s concerns will be the form of Johnny Sexton and Sean O’Brien. Both would admit that they haven’t showed anything like their best form this year.
Returning to a winning environment in Leinster could prove to be the perfect tonic however, and Lancaster certainly believes that he can help his struggling players return to their peaks.
“I don’t think anyone within the team has really hit the heights that they achieved, even in November,” Leinster’s senior coach maintained.
Imagination
“So I wouldn’t be concerned long-term, by any stretch of the imagination. The (loss of ) momentum (after defeat to England), had a knock-on effect through the whole of the squad.
“What I have to do now is get them back into Leinster mode and get Johnny playing well because he is such a key player for us.
“I’m confident he can do that and we can do that.”
Lancaster is an excellent manmanager and he could yet play a pivotal indirect role in resurrecting Ireland’s World Cup hopes.
Speak to any of the Leinster players and they will tell you how he has helped to improve their game and the way they look at things.
“He has added strings to all our bows,” Fergus McFadden explains.
“He is very critical. His analysis of training, you don’t just go training and play a game, he analyses things you can improve on.
“It could be a Tuesday session, it could be a Monday session, he has got clips cropped up the next day of small things everyone can do better. I think the whole group evolves under Stuart.
“Maybe I’ve played on teams in the past where the starting 15/20 players are going forward because they are in the team a lot whereas under Stuart the entire team are involved, getting better every week. It is a fantastic trait that he has.”
Lancaster (right) knows all about
coping with disappointment and the damaging effect it can have, which is exactly why he signed a new two-year contract extension with Leinster in favour of a potential return to the international stage.
“The Six Nations is a very tough competition if you don’t win all of your games – if you lose one game, you are under pressure,” the former England head coach said, reflecting on Ireland’s campaign.
“I know that from experience. I had four Six Nations and lost once in each.
“The magnifying glass really comes on individuals, the team performances and the coaches.
“That’s the intensity of the tournament, that’s why it is a tough tournament to do well in.
“I think they will be fine. It will be nice to get them back in, spend a bit of time with them and go over what lessons they have learned.”
Before the last World Cup, England finished second in the Six Nations under Lancaster’s guidance, before disaster unfolded on home soil.
Ireland will not play again until August’s warm-up games, which according to Lancaster will be crucial to rebuilding momentum before they arrive in Japan.
“Obviously they will be disappointed about how the tournament finished,” he added.
“In the Six Nations, momentum is such a big thing and if you lose your first game at home, it tends to have a knock-on effect throughout the tournament.
“If I go back to 2015, we had some good warm-up games then in one game things changed.
“The World Cup itself is a standalone tournament. The advantage all of the countries now have is they have a three-month camp together in the lead up to it.
“Who comes out on top in the World Cup, it’s how you manage that three-month period. More importantly, how you manage those warm-up games.
“Without looking too far ahead, you have to peak for your first game, as we did in 2015.
Related
“I don’t think it is related from the Six Nations as to who is going to win the World Cup but they will certainly want to take the lessons learned and build well during that June, July, August period because you have to hit the ground running in September. “It’s different for the southern hemisphere sides because they are in complete club mode. “They then join the Rugby Championship and then they go into the World Cup, so they are more match-ready and battle-hardened, it does favour them a bit.”