WE’LL MISS STUART Lancaster’s media briefings when he’s gone to France next season.
The Leinster senior coach is interesting on pretty much anything you can think of asking him.
His concise, precise analyses of Leinster’s performances are always interesting, for starters.
“I was pleased,” he said of last weekend’s Champions Cup win over Ulster. “Ideally, we’d like to play Leinster rugby but it was lashing rain so we had to win a different way.
“So, our accuracy at the breakdown, our ability to create pressure on them consistently meant that, whilst we didn’t take all of our chances, we were deserved winners really.
“Set-piece was good, the accuracy of our kicking game, our ability to put pressure on them and the need to take away their strengths in terms of going after their rucks when they were setting up to box-kick the ball, win the aerial contest and the kick pressure – all the unseen work, I thought we did that well and that’s a big part of the victory.
“I was doing the review with the lads this morning and some of the stats for the forwards were outstanding in terms of dominant carries, accuracy at the breakdown, tackle success, etc.
“So that’s the foundation of the performance. It was a really difficult game to perform in with such little preparation time in terms of the Ireland lads coming back in. To deliver it was pleasing.”
Lancaster wasn’t pleased with everything, of course. Penalty concessions early in the game frustrated him, as did the defensive system errors for Ulster’s first-half try finished by James Hume. Typically, Lancaster credited Billy Burns for the way he “nailed” his cross-kick in that instance. He appreciates good rugby even if when it’s against his team.
The way the game petered out was another reason for Lancaster to demand more this Friday as Leinster host Leicester in the quarter-finals of this competition. They’ll be hot favourites again.
After last weekend’s game, Ulster boss Dan McFarland spoke about how the demographics and financial situation favour Leinster when it comes to ruling Irish rugby. McFarland pointed out that 14 of their players had just won a Grand Slam with Ireland.
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Lancaster will join Racing 92 this summer. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Interestingly, Leicester head coach Richard Wigglesworth has been talking a similar game this week.
“Leinster are a world-class side, literally, with something like 30 Test-capped players providing depth that is the envy of clubs all over the globe,” said the Tigers boss.
“They are a team who move the ball brilliantly and that comes on the back of the incredible cohesion they have as players.
“This is a group of players that have spent almost their entire lives, let alone professional careers, playing together through the Irish system, from school to Leinster and then even on the international stage for Ireland, where they dominate that squad.”
While Lancaster is “100% certain” that Wigglesworth won’t be bigging Leinster up privately with Leicester, the Leinster coach is keen to underline that this huge group of Ireland internationals have been developed in and by the province. It’s not like they’ve simply been handed a group of readymade world-class players.
“I don’t get wrapped up in the demographics of Ireland,” said Lancaster. “The thing that concerns me the most is making sure we’ve got an unbelievable development system, an unbelievable connection between the development programme and the academy and the senior team and making sure the senior team is coached as well as they can be coached.
“When push comes to shove, I still think quality coaching trumps everything and I think we’re very lucky here in that we’ve got a great group of coaches who are all diverse, have all come from different countries, have all brought our own piece, and Leo [Cullen] marshals the whole thing unbelievably well in terms of rotating the team, giving lads opportunities. So it’s not to do, for me, with demographics. It’s to do with coaching and we’ve worked hard to develop the players, the players have improved, anyone really.
“You take Hugo [Keenan], Jimmy [O'Brien] or Jordan [Larmour], any of these young lads who were 18 or 19 five or six years ago, and now they’re international players, through the work that went on before but also since then.”
Lancaster has had a central role in the development of those players and many more. There’s barely a person in Leinster’s squad who wouldn’t give him credit for making them better.
He’s off to Racing 92 at the end of this season for a new adventure and it’s worth remembering that Leinster weren’t in the best place before he came on board in 2016. That said, he’s absolutely right to credit Cullen for leading the resurgence, while others like Mick Dawson played crucial roles behind the scenes.
Jimmy O'Brien with Lancaster. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
Lancaster is confident that the structures in Leinster mean the current standards can be maintained.
“Very confident, I would be very confident,” he said. “Now, you can’t guarantee sustained success because things can change very quickly, as we have seen in soccer clubs and rugby clubs around the world.
“But if they keep investing in quality coaching and keep drip-feeding the information that the senior team is using down to the academy and into the schools and clubs then… I have been so impressed with the quality of the coaching over the last six or seven years I have been here. That’s the key really.
“That breeds the players and the players deliver the success. I’m biased because I’m a coach but I do think that is one of the secrets of Leinster’s success.”
And typically enough, Lancaster continues to play his part in that ‘drip-feeding’ into the game around Leinster.
Even though he’s on his way out in a few months, he’s planning to do a few more coaching clinics.
“One for the senior coaches around the province and those operating at the top of the schools and the clubs, and then another community coaching event as well for the parent who is learning to coach for the first time and working with the U6s,” he explained.
“That will be a wider event in terms of participation and numbers and less about the elite aspect – how to be a good coach when you are a volunteer. I want to pass those on as a thank you really for the support that everyone has given me.”
It’s a mark of the man.
Lancaster is now into his final eight weeks as Leinster’s senior coach. He obviously hopes to finish with a double in the URC and Champions Cup. He’s aware that the end is nigh.
“It crosses your mind, you’re counting down the days because you know there’s a big game coming.
“At the back of your mind, you’re thinking ‘Wow, it’s only eight weeks really’ until it all finishes, or 10 weeks whatever it is, but nothing will distract me from the day job and trying to do the very best to set up Leinster to win.
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'I’m biased but I think that's one of the secrets of Leinster’s success'
WE’LL MISS STUART Lancaster’s media briefings when he’s gone to France next season.
The Leinster senior coach is interesting on pretty much anything you can think of asking him.
His concise, precise analyses of Leinster’s performances are always interesting, for starters.
“I was pleased,” he said of last weekend’s Champions Cup win over Ulster. “Ideally, we’d like to play Leinster rugby but it was lashing rain so we had to win a different way.
“So, our accuracy at the breakdown, our ability to create pressure on them consistently meant that, whilst we didn’t take all of our chances, we were deserved winners really.
“Set-piece was good, the accuracy of our kicking game, our ability to put pressure on them and the need to take away their strengths in terms of going after their rucks when they were setting up to box-kick the ball, win the aerial contest and the kick pressure – all the unseen work, I thought we did that well and that’s a big part of the victory.
“I was doing the review with the lads this morning and some of the stats for the forwards were outstanding in terms of dominant carries, accuracy at the breakdown, tackle success, etc.
“So that’s the foundation of the performance. It was a really difficult game to perform in with such little preparation time in terms of the Ireland lads coming back in. To deliver it was pleasing.”
Lancaster wasn’t pleased with everything, of course. Penalty concessions early in the game frustrated him, as did the defensive system errors for Ulster’s first-half try finished by James Hume. Typically, Lancaster credited Billy Burns for the way he “nailed” his cross-kick in that instance. He appreciates good rugby even if when it’s against his team.
The way the game petered out was another reason for Lancaster to demand more this Friday as Leinster host Leicester in the quarter-finals of this competition. They’ll be hot favourites again.
After last weekend’s game, Ulster boss Dan McFarland spoke about how the demographics and financial situation favour Leinster when it comes to ruling Irish rugby. McFarland pointed out that 14 of their players had just won a Grand Slam with Ireland.
Interestingly, Leicester head coach Richard Wigglesworth has been talking a similar game this week.
“Leinster are a world-class side, literally, with something like 30 Test-capped players providing depth that is the envy of clubs all over the globe,” said the Tigers boss.
“They are a team who move the ball brilliantly and that comes on the back of the incredible cohesion they have as players.
“This is a group of players that have spent almost their entire lives, let alone professional careers, playing together through the Irish system, from school to Leinster and then even on the international stage for Ireland, where they dominate that squad.”
While Lancaster is “100% certain” that Wigglesworth won’t be bigging Leinster up privately with Leicester, the Leinster coach is keen to underline that this huge group of Ireland internationals have been developed in and by the province. It’s not like they’ve simply been handed a group of readymade world-class players.
“I don’t get wrapped up in the demographics of Ireland,” said Lancaster. “The thing that concerns me the most is making sure we’ve got an unbelievable development system, an unbelievable connection between the development programme and the academy and the senior team and making sure the senior team is coached as well as they can be coached.
“When push comes to shove, I still think quality coaching trumps everything and I think we’re very lucky here in that we’ve got a great group of coaches who are all diverse, have all come from different countries, have all brought our own piece, and Leo [Cullen] marshals the whole thing unbelievably well in terms of rotating the team, giving lads opportunities. So it’s not to do, for me, with demographics. It’s to do with coaching and we’ve worked hard to develop the players, the players have improved, anyone really.
“You take Hugo [Keenan], Jimmy [O'Brien] or Jordan [Larmour], any of these young lads who were 18 or 19 five or six years ago, and now they’re international players, through the work that went on before but also since then.”
Lancaster has had a central role in the development of those players and many more. There’s barely a person in Leinster’s squad who wouldn’t give him credit for making them better.
He’s off to Racing 92 at the end of this season for a new adventure and it’s worth remembering that Leinster weren’t in the best place before he came on board in 2016. That said, he’s absolutely right to credit Cullen for leading the resurgence, while others like Mick Dawson played crucial roles behind the scenes.
Lancaster is confident that the structures in Leinster mean the current standards can be maintained.
“Very confident, I would be very confident,” he said. “Now, you can’t guarantee sustained success because things can change very quickly, as we have seen in soccer clubs and rugby clubs around the world.
“But if they keep investing in quality coaching and keep drip-feeding the information that the senior team is using down to the academy and into the schools and clubs then… I have been so impressed with the quality of the coaching over the last six or seven years I have been here. That’s the key really.
“That breeds the players and the players deliver the success. I’m biased because I’m a coach but I do think that is one of the secrets of Leinster’s success.”
And typically enough, Lancaster continues to play his part in that ‘drip-feeding’ into the game around Leinster.
Even though he’s on his way out in a few months, he’s planning to do a few more coaching clinics.
“One for the senior coaches around the province and those operating at the top of the schools and the clubs, and then another community coaching event as well for the parent who is learning to coach for the first time and working with the U6s,” he explained.
“That will be a wider event in terms of participation and numbers and less about the elite aspect – how to be a good coach when you are a volunteer. I want to pass those on as a thank you really for the support that everyone has given me.”
It’s a mark of the man.
Lancaster is now into his final eight weeks as Leinster’s senior coach. He obviously hopes to finish with a double in the URC and Champions Cup. He’s aware that the end is nigh.
“It crosses your mind, you’re counting down the days because you know there’s a big game coming.
“At the back of your mind, you’re thinking ‘Wow, it’s only eight weeks really’ until it all finishes, or 10 weeks whatever it is, but nothing will distract me from the day job and trying to do the very best to set up Leinster to win.
“That’s the only thing that motivates me.”
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