Lancaster the man to save Saints
JiM Mallinder’s downfall at northampton is further proof that coaches have a shelflife, in any role. After a decade in charge of the saints, it was time for a change.
to be clear, Mallinder did a fine job at Franklin’s Gardens and, after a period of rest and recovery from the ordeal of being sacked as director of rugby, he will be back.
there are already rumours that he is wanted by Worcester, which is no surprise because he has overseen a Premiership title triumph and guided northampton to a european Cup final.
But the set-up he led had become stale. the decline had become sustained and Mallinder could not engineer a revival, try as he might. the saints needed a proper shakeup, which is why it is all but impossible to imagine assistant coaches Dorian West, who may be bound for newcastle, and Alan Dickens surviving the overhaul.
Consider the situation from the point of view of a player who has been at the club since his early twenties. some 10 years on, having reached ‘veteran’ status, they will have been hearing the same voices calling the tune; day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. no matter how compelling those voices are, without a major change of strategic approach, it must reach the point where it becomes a tired tune.
For so long, northampton seemed to cherish their big-club status as a birthright in a rugby town, but now, with poor results and growing gaps in the stands, they must re- earn their place as a cherished local Logical choice: Stuart Lancaster institution. that process will start with appointing the right successor to Mallinder. that man is stuart Lancaster. His removal by the RFU after the dire 2015 World Cup campaign rendered him all but untouchable for any english clubs, but Lancaster’s resurrection at Leinster has been profoundly impressive and all but wiped the slate clean. At some time, he will surely want to return home. suddenly, a door may be open to him, at Franklin’s Gardens or at sixways. He is just the man to take on a rebuilding job, in charge of a team and a club with vast potential. He will already know much of the territory. there will be the usual talk about conducting a global search for the right candidate, but there are no available Antipodean masterminds out there with better credentials than Lancaster. two years ago, his appointment would have been unthinkable, now it appears logical.