Lancaster Appointed As England Coach

by Dugald Skene

The RFU confirmed today that they have chosen Stuart Lancaster for the permanent position as head coach of England.  Given the 4 wins from 5 during the recent 6 Nations, it is perhaps little surprise, but I can’t help but feel that this is a little bit of a short-sighted decision.

First and foremost, I think Lancaster is a good coach.  He clearly understands the game, his players and knows how to get the best out of them.  Perhaps this was exaggerated by the fact that many of his players were new to the international scene and therefore naturally keen to step up and impress.  However, the biggest doubt coming into the 6 Nations was about how Lancaster would deal with high level strategy and tactics.  With those 4 wins, including victory in Paris, it would seem that any doubts within the RFU have been allayed. 

There is a big ‘but’ here though, and it comes in the shape of Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.  As well as England did in the 6 Nations, many (if not all) of the opponents they beat underperformed.  They were perhaps lucky to come away from Edinburgh and Rome with wins and victories over France and Ireland seemed a little bit hollow (at least to the neutral viewer) because of the inconsistent form of the two teams.  The one team they played that were performing well, Wales, came out on top at Twickenham.  The southern hemisphere teams will provide a far more realistic yardstick if the English have sights on the world cup.

The bigger test will be coming over the next 8 months as England take on the very best in the world, and England push for a top 4 IRB world ranking for the RWC pool selections at the end of the year.  In my opinion, there are 3 teams playing for 3^rd and 4^th, England, Wales and South Africa.  The way these teams play against each other will be key to how the world cup groups will look.

Stuart Lancaster has impressed sufficiently to get the

job on a permanent basis

And what of the world cup? Well, it’s in England.  It’s probably easy to underestimate the increased pressure to perform for the host nation during a world cup, whatever the sport, but when it’s England playing rugby, there will likely be as much expectation as the All Blacks faced in 2011.  The pressure to deliver will be massive, and it’s here that the RFU have taken their biggest risk.  By appointing Lancaster on the basis of 5 games, over the likes of Nick Mallett with proven RWC experience, the RFU have basically said that they see him as being the man to win them the world cup under the toughest of circumstances. 

It’s way too early to start saying that it’s impossible for someone with relatively little experience to succeed, there are still 3 RBS 6 Nations tournaments to play, 3 autumn international series to play and 3 summer tours to go on before a world cup ball is kicked.  It’s a risk, of course, but only time will tell whether it will pay off and the first real indicator will be in November.

Lancaster will need the support around him.  I’ve mentioned before in this blog that Andy Robinson, as good a hand-on coach as he clearly is, often struggles with the strategic element of games as well as the media side.  As number 2 to Clive Woodward in 2003, he was able to get on with what he was good at in coaching the players.  I think that Lancaster is of a similar mould and would benefit from having someone to take the pressure away from him where possible without impinging on the way he wants to run his team.  It would have to be someone he feels comfortable working with rather than a random RFU appointment, and it would have to be made sufficiently far enough ahead of the world cup to allow integration and familiarity.

These are interesting times for England and their supporters.  Both the coaches and the squad demonstrated a desire to progress and the ability to succeed.  The key for Lancaster is to find a way to sustain that success.