Ambitious pursuit of Lancaster set to end in failure for the Ospreys
STUART Lancaster has been targeted by the Ospreys to succeed the sacked Steve Tandy but their bid to land the former England coach seems set to end in failure.
Power-brokers at the Liberty Stadium are understood to have approached Lancaster, who is a key lieutenant to head coach Leo Cullen at Guinness PRO14 high-fliers Leinster, after firing Tandy last month.
Ospreys had banked just seven wins from 26 league or European matches before former flanker Tandy’s services were dispensed with despite him having more than two years remaining on his contract.
The region have since vowed to find a ‘world class’ replacement having failed to win any silverware for six years.
Lancaster fitted that criteria in the eyes of Ospreys chiefs but their attempt to lure him to Swansea as head coach seems set to hit the buffers, with the Englishman seemingly unwilling to uproot from his Leeds home and the length of the commute he would face being unworkable.
It’s understood he currently commutes to Dublin but there are regular scheduled daily flights from Leeds Bradford Airport to Dublin, with the shortest journey taking just an hour.
There are no direct flights between Leeds and Cardiff.
The shortest flight to the Welsh capital is via Amsterdam in The Netherlands or Belfast and takes 3hr 40min.
It’s also possible to make the journey via Dublin but that takes 6hr 15min.
The driving time for the 248-mile trip from Leeds to Ospreys’ training headquarters at Llandarcy is nearly four-and-a-half hours.
Lancaster was appointed England coach following their 2011 World Cup shambles under Martin Johnson and they finished runners-up four times in the Six Nations.
But his tenure ended after they became the first host nation never to reach the knock-out stage at the World Cup, exiting following defeats to Wales and Australia at Twickenham in 2015.
However, he’s impressed at Leinster alongside former Ireland lock Cullen since being recruited by the three-time European champions in September 2016.
The rebuilding work they have undertaken has begun to pay dividends, with the Irish province being the only team to go unbeaten through the pool stage of this season’s Champions Cup.
They’ve seen off Aviva Premiership kings Exeter Chiefs, Montpellier and Glasgow Warriors, to book an April 1 quarter-final with defending champions Saracens in Dublin.
Leinster are also top of Conference B of the PRO14 ahead of PRO12 winners Scarlets with 12 victories in 15 outings and are one of the best-supported clubs in world rugby.
The Ospreys are currently sixth out of seven teams in Conference B of the league and were knocked out of the Champions Cup at the pool stage.