England’s discarded duo target last laugh with Ireland
Stuart Lancaster and Andy Farrell were derided after the 2015 World Cup failure, but their reputations are being restored with their Six Nations rivals, writes Tom Cary
They departed English shores in late 2015, if not in ignominy then certainly under a pretty sizeable cloud. The first host nation to fail to qualify for the quarter-finals of a World Cup is not a record anyone would want on their CVS. But fast forward two years and they are proving instrumental to the rise and rise of Irish rugby.
Stuart Lancaster and Andy Farrell, senior coach at Leinster Rugby and defence coach at Ireland respectively, are enjoying quite the renaissance across the Irish Sea – no longer remembered for the Sam Burgess saga or muddled selection as bringing on exciting young stars like Jordan Larmour and turning Ireland into a miserly defensive unit.
Such has been their reinvention it feels valid to ask to what extent their input threatens their home country’s chances in this year’s tournament.
“A fair amount I would say,” is the verdict of Paul Wallace, the former Ireland prop who says he is still “stunned” the RFU ever let them go. “Okay, England didn’t win the Six Nations under them but it was fine margins. I actually thought England were the best team [in Europe] under Lancaster, playing the best rugby. Still, England’s loss was Ireland’s gain.”
That last sentiment certainly seems the prevailing one in Ireland, with Lancaster in particular winning plenty of plaudits this season. Leinster are playing arguably the best rugby in Europe right now. You need only look at the breakdown of Ireland’s 36-man Six Nations squad, with Leinster players providing exactly half that number, to appreciate that. And while Leo Cullen’s lack of ego is credited with having helped to facilitate Lancaster’s integration into the club (it was the Leinster head coach himself who suggested they bring in Lancaster), credit for their scintillating rugby this season has largely been placed at Lancaster’s door.
“He has just fitted in so well,” enthuses Brian O’driscoll, who retains strong connections to his old club. “He is very popular. If you have the attention of the Jonny Sextons and Isa Nacewas of the world then you know the coach knows what they are talking about.”
Lancaster himself has appeared reluctant to talk too much about his work at Leinster, partly perhaps out of a desire to get a body of work under his belt before speaking, partly his natural disinclination to parade himself for the media. But he did give one fascinating interview to Off the Ball back in December in which he spoke about a wide variety subjects ranging from his emotions after his father, a dairy farmer, almost lost everything in the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001 to his sadness at not being present for his daughter’s GCSE results. What came across was a man who was relishing the opportunity to be back doing some actual coaching (“because the longer the England job went on, the less I did”); someone who was prepared to move heaven and earth to make this new job work. Lancaster’s family still lives in Leeds. He commutes weekly. But he had no hesitation in signing a new two-year deal last year.
One particularly revealing part of the interview came when he spoke about his reasons for turning down opportunities in Australia and France in favour of the move to Dublin. It was a text message from Sexton, apparently – a man he had never met – that convinced him. “Stuart,” Sexton wrote, “if there’s anything I can do to help get this over the line, let me know.”
He realised he was wanted.
“That interview was so honest,” O’driscoll says. “Listen, all I can go off is the players I speak to and they say Stuart is a very, very good thinker. And he is now in an environment where he can do what he loves best, which is coaching. He doesn’t have to deal with all the other c – p that comes with being a head coach. All the admin, interviews, sound bites, the contractual side of things.”
As for Farrell, speak to anyone in or around the Ireland set-up and you are left in no doubt as to the influence he exerts. Many of them knew him already from their time with the British and Irish Lions in 2013. But for those who did not, he has lived up to his reputation as a charismatic straight-talker.
Wallace is not actually convinced that Ireland’s defence has improved a great deal since Les Kiss left in 2015, describing it as a “work in progress”. But he says Farrell’s presence has been felt in other ways. “He is a player’s player, someone for whom all the guys have the utmost respect, for what he achieved in his career. He is a big character. A leader. He has a bit of Irish heritage. It’s a good fit.”
O’driscoll, for his part, says Farrell is constantly improving as a coach. “He has modified Ireland’s defence and changed that up,” he says. “I can see an evolution having played under him in 2013. The set-up and aggressiveness of it, not putting as many players in the back field, asking more of his full-back … I just think there is a clear idea as to how the system works. Their discipline is very good, they don’t give away more than 10 penalties very often.”
Ireland is still Joe Schmidt’s train set, make no mistake, but Lancaster and Farrell are proving useful contractors. How ironic it would be if they had a hand, albeit indirectly, in more World Cup pain for England in Japan next year.