Lancaster rules himself out of Harlequins job with focus on Leinster

Stuart Lancaster, the former England head coach, has ruled himself out of consideration for the vacant job at Harlequins as well as any position that might come up for the foreseeable future so that he can concentrate wholly on his role with Leinster, who face Racing 92 in the final of the Champions Cup in Bilbao on Saturday.

Lancaster is contracted to Leinster through to the end of the 2018-19 season.

“I have not had any communication from them [Harlequins] and I have not proactively sought it,” said Lancaster. “I am 100 per cent committed here. It would also be 100 per cent the wrong thing to do to start talking about trying to win something at Leinster and at the same time try and create an opportunity elsewhere.”

Lancaster has no intention of seeking out possibilities that might arise over the next 12 months, preferring to be fully engaged with his coaching role at the Irish province.

Jason Woodward, the Gloucester full-back, has been backed to be a part of England’s squad for their summer tour to South Africa by Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann. The 27-year-old, who joined Gloucester last summer from Bristol, qualifies for England through his grandmother and is poised to play a key role for Gloucester in Friday’s Challenge Cup final against Cardiff Blues in Bilbao. Ackermann said: “I do believe that Jason is ready.”