‘Special’ coach Lancaster key to Euro glory, insists Sexton

IT WAS Johnny Sexton’s endorsement that helped Stuart Lancaster land a job at Leinster and the Ireland fly-half paid tribute to the former England coach again after they became European champions for the fourth time. In moving scenes following an attritional Champions Cup final in Bilbao on Saturday, Lancaster was joined on the pitch by wife Nina and son Daniel, to celebrate with the trophy, which was won courtesy of Isa Nacewa’s 79th-minute penalty. Leinster’s head coach Leo Cullen brought in the former England coach in 2016. Sexton — who kicked nine points, with Nacewa slotting six — said of Lancaster: ‘What a special coach. To come in and do what he’s done has been incredible and for Leo to bring him in was amazing.’ Sexton’s admiration for Lancaster is shared by the entire Leinster squad. Scrum-half Luke McGrath added: ‘He’s changed our whole structure and shape of our game. He has been brilliant.’ While the Cumbrian has had a positive impact on the Irish province, he has been given remarkable talent to work with. Take James Ryan. The Ireland lock, known as ‘Cheese’, is 21. He has played 21 senior matches, at club and Test level, and won the lot. He was man of the match on Saturday. It was just business as usual. Veteran prop Cian Healy, who described this momentous victory as being ‘like winning a fight without throwing a punch’, said: ‘With the likes of Cheese — 21 and 0 — expectations have to be high. When you see him step up to the plate it’s jaw-dropping. It’s like, “Hold on a second, he doesn’t look like he can do what he’s doing”. It’s class. Eventually he’ll lose a game and we’ll pick him up and dust him off and send him out again.’