Rugby:Stuart Lancaster has been appointed as England's new permanent head coach on a four-year contract, the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) has confirmed.
Lancaster will lead England into their home Rugby World Cup in 2015 after seeing off competition for the job from Nick Mallett. His permanent appointment follows his successful reign as interim head coach, during which he led England to second place in the RBS Six Nations and rebuilt the reputation of the English team.
The 42 year old was proposed by the RFU’s new chief executive Ian Ritchie, who oversaw the recruitment process, and was ratified unanimously by the board. “I am immensely honoured and proud to accept this role,” said Lancaster.
“From the hundreds of messages I received during the Six Nations I know what supporting England means to millions of people and I am privileged to be involved. The players, coaches and the management were superb during the tournament and it’s down to them that we made such positive steps from when we first met up in Leeds.
“The challenge now is to take this squad and the players we will see emerge forward to 2015. It is one that I can’t wait to get stuck into. We have a massive task ahead of us in South Africa this summer and we have 37 games before that first World Cup match on home soil, so every second counts in developing players who can win that tournament; which has to be the ultimate aim.
“I want to thank Ian and the panel for giving me the chance to explain my vision for England Rugby and, with their backing, I feel very positive about the future.”
It has been a remarkable rise from relative obscurity for Lancaster, a former school teacher who spent two years as director of rugby at Leeds before joining the RFU.
Lancaster stepped up from his dual role as Saxons coach and the RFU’s head of elite player development to lead England into the Six Nations after Martin Johnson stood down in December.
England had just crashed out of the World Cup in the quarter-finals and the subsequent leaked reports indicated a squad divided by distrust and competing agendas. At that stage, the RFU had already contacted Mallett and Lancaster was not deemed to be a realistic long-term candidate given his inexperience at Test level.
But Lancaster rebuilt the England team on the pitch and they rounded off the Six Nations with a victory over World Cup finalists France in Paris and a 30-9 thumping of Ireland at Twickenham.
Off the pitch, Lancaster’s efforts in restoring the reputation of English rugby won him immediate admirers within Twickenham’s executive team. He engaged with sponsors and media and succeeded in his stated aim of reconnecting the England team with the public, holding an open training session in Leeds and running community coaching projects.
Lancaster also clamped down hard on ill-discipline, setting the tone by omitting Danny Care from his Six Nations squad after he was arrested — and subsequently convicted — for drink driving.
There was a wave of public support behind Lancaster even though he did not have the sustained top level coaching experience of candidates such as Mallett and Jake White, who ultimately pulled out of the process.
But Lancaster, who was interviewed last Thursday, demonstrated to Ritchie and his four-man advisory panel that he has both the vision and the qualities required to deliver England success at the 2015 World Cup.
Ritchie consulted with Conor O’Shea, Ian McGeechan, Rob Andrew and Richard Hill before presenting Lancaster’s name to the RFU board.
“We have been through a rigorous and global selection process and are confident that Stuart is the right person to lead England forward into the 2015 Rugby World Cup,” Ritchie said.
“He has shown throughout the Six Nations and subsequently in both interview and other conversations I, as chairman of the advisory panel, have had with him that he has the skills and vision needed to be the England head coach.
“I would also like to thank the advisory panel for their time and invaluable advice during the course of the process. I have been very lucky to be able to draw upon great rugby expertise and for that I am grateful.”
STUART LANCASTER FACTFILE
1969:Born October 9th in Penrith, Cumbria.
1992:Makes his debut for Leeds, where he became a regular fixture in the side. Lancaster was Leeds' regular flanker and captain until 2000.
2000:Retires from rugby after playing at Headingley for eight years becoming the first Leeds player to play a century of games since the amalgamation of Headingley and Roundhay.
2001:Appointed head of the Leeds RFU Academy, a position which he held for five years.
2006:Became the director of rugby at Leeds Carnegie and led them to promotion back to the Premiership following a title-winning season in 2006-07.
2008:Appointed the head of the English RFU's elite player development in March, helping to bring through a number of exciting talents including England scrum-half Danny Care.
2010:Becomes manager of the England Saxons.
2011:Wins the Churchill Cup with Saxons. On December 8th it was announced Lancaster would head up an interim England coaching team, also including Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell, for the Six Nations. Three days later he named an elite player squad featuring nine uncapped players and 13 changes from the World Cup campaign.
2012:January 25th, he announces his intention to apply for the job on a permanent basis. On January 30th he decides Chris Robshaw as captain in their Six Nations opener against Scotland.
On February 4th England beat Scotland 13-6 in Lancaster’s first match in charge. On March 17th England finish second in the Six Nations behind Wales.
March 29th:Lancaster is understood to have been appointed England head coach.
