Rugby: From dark blue to red rose for new England coach Stuart Lancaster

NEW England head coach Stuart Lancaster is excited at the prospect of launching his international coaching career at Murrayfield against Scotland, having worn the navy blue and played against England himself.

With the names of heavyweights such as Nick Mallett, John Kirwan, Eddie Jones and Wayne Smith being bandied about, Lancaster was the surprise choice to replace Martin Johnson atop the England set-up after their World Cup debacle.

The 42-year-old has no pedigree in international playing or coaching but has been handed the reins on an interim basis for the duration of the RBS Six Nations Championship. Rumours persist that he will merely be keeping the seat warm for Mallett, Smith or someone else to take over in the summer.

However, working alongside Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell, the former Scotland under-19 and Scottish Students cap is hopeful that, in the next four months, he can prove himself good enough to persuade the RFU that he is worth sticking with.

And starting with victory in Scotland is clearly at the forefront of his mind.

“That has to be the first target,” he said, “but I have to admit that it will be very interesting coaching England for the first time against Scotland. My mother Ann is Scottish and hails from Dumfries, and that’s why I came through the Anglo-Scots system, where we were coached by Bill Cuthbertson, and then I played for Scotland at under-19 level.

“My first cap was against Italy and I was hugely honoured to pull on the jersey. It was the same when I went to Carnegie University and travelled up to play for the Scottish Students, and John Rutherford was our coach. That was when I played against England, and lost.

“Once I left university, the next step for me was Scotland A or the full Scotland team, and I would have loved to have pushed for that, but my priority was my teaching career – rugby was still amateur then.

“There were a few boys who played in England and for Scotland then [Damian Cronin, Chris Gray, Derek White and Paul Burnell] but you had to be playing for a top club down here and I had joined Wakefield. I moved to Headingley, who formed Leeds in 1992, but we were a Division Three side then, so I wasn’t playing at a high enough standard to force my way in to the Scotland senior contention.”

A back-five forward born in Penrith, Lancaster became the first man to play more than 100 games for the new Leeds Carnegie and also pushed through the RFU’s elite coaching programme more quickly than anyone else.

After hanging up his boots in 2000, Lancaster worked his way up through the ranks in Leeds to take over as academy manager ten years ago and then became director of rugby in 2006, going on to steer Leeds back into the Premiership.

Leeds dropped back down but Lancaster was appointed by the RFU to take charge of England’s regional academy structure and, at the time Johnson became England manager in 2008, Lancaster was also handed the reins of the England Saxons, their A team.

“I’ve enjoyed it,” he said, “but it has come quickly. If you’d asked me in 2006 when I was still academy manager at Leeds if in five years’ time I’d be coaching England I’d never have believed it, coming from teaching without having the pedigree as a player.

“But, obviously, I think it’s a good appointment!

“I’m thrilled. It’s a fantastic privilege and a great honour. I’ve worked with a lot of the players in the squad now and those coming through and pushing, and there is an immense amount of talent across the country.

“The regional academy programme has given me a good insight into that and, while I’ve maybe come a long way very quickly, you earn respect and trust in this game, and I think I’m doing that.”

Those attributes are arguably the two most important ones for the RFU right now and underpin Lancaster’s appointment. He has had to work hard to establish himself as a leading coach in England, primarily because he does not have the name as a player that Johnson, or even Farrell or Rowntree, did.

Sources in the English game say that his refusal to take any nonsense from players, his clarity over his off-field demands on discipline and behaviour, allied to his ability to coach and motivate players, marks him out as a strong leader.

He apparently impressed many players with his handling of a stroppy, demoted England captain.

Former Scotland internationals Carl Hogg and Tony Stanger speak highly of Lancaster from their time at Leeds, but the Scot who knows him better than anyone is Stuart Reid.

They started at St Bees School in Cumbria together in 1988, and both played for the school’s 1st XV, which Lancaster captained, and Scotland under-19s.

Reid went on to win eight caps in Scotland’s back row.

“I think it’s a great appointment for England, but not so good for us,” Reid said. “His name might not be well-known outside English coaching circles, but his appointment is just what England need right now and I’m about more worried now about the first game in the Six Nations than I was with Johnson in charge.

“Stuart and I struck up a good friendship at school and we still see each other a couple of times a year, so I was delighted when he got the job. I’ve watched his progress with interest and I’ve been winding him up but I’m delighted for him.

“He is a hard taskmaster, with old-fashioned values, some might say, but behaviour on and off the field is huge for him and that’s probably what England need. There have been a lot of ex-players speaking very highly of him and that shows the respect he has earned, coming up from the grassroots, through the pro game and academy system.

“I actually think the RFU have been quite shrewd with his appointment, because England need someone right now who knows their game, their players, has respect in England and is positive and very enthusiastic about the future.

“Stuart ticks those boxes. I don’t think you need a Nick Mallett necessarily. Stuart believes that leadership and getting things right off the field right is paramount, that boys should be thankful for where they are and acutely aware of who they’re representing, and he will come down on off-field behaviour like we saw in the World Cup like a ton of bricks.”

Reid added: “I’d like to see the RFU keep an open mind through the Six Nations and, if he does well, give him the job to 2015.

“Time might be against him because you don’t have long with international teams – he doesn’t start with them until late January – but he will prepare for the Scotland game well, come in and instil new belief and a code of conduct and, even on a cold, wet and windy day at Murrayfield, he’ll have a plan meticulously worked out.

“He’s also a very good motivator, particularly pre-match. England have nothing to lose because people expect them to come and get pumped with everything that’s gone on so, in many ways, it’s a good time for him to start.”

Lancaster appreciates the sentiments, but does not necessarily agree that he has little to lose.

“Stuart is a great friend and I also followed his career when we left school and the under-19s, and I was delighted when he won his caps and was part of the 1999 Five Nations-winning side.

“But I don’t think I could have asked for a tougher start with England than Murrayfield first-up. It is quite ironic and it’s been interesting in that some of the players I played with in the Scotland under-19s or student sides, I’m coming across now as coaches. Carl Hogg and Bryan Redpath at Gloucester, and Gregor Townsend with Scotland.

“We are in a rebuilding programme with England and it will take time. My focus is fairly and squarely on the January camp, but there are areas off the field we need to address and my plan is to bring in new ideas and create a new environment through building the rugby culture back up to where it should be.

“Scotland are obviously very well coached, and have good players playing well but, while it will be tough, it is a great opportunity for us to start building foundations towards 2015, and I am very excited about the Six Nations.

“I’ll be acutely aware of the psychology of the Scottish team having been in one, and played against England.

“Good to see old friends and teammates, and the occasion will be a huge one for me as a coach, but also, given my connection with Scotland, it will be a fantastic feeling to be head coach of an England side playing for the Calcutta Cup.”