Rugby: Lancaster to pilot England for Cup

England are to put their preparations for the Calcutta Cup match at Murrayfield, which launches this season’s RBS Six Nations Championship, in the hands of a former Scotland Under-21 and Students internationalist.

Stuart Lancaster, a former flanker who grew up in Cumbria of Caledonian ancestry, has been appointed coach on a caretaker business following the resignation of Martin Johnson and will be assisted by existing forwards’ coach Graham Rowntree.

Lancaster is currently an elite performance coach at Twickenham.

As a player he was capped by Scotland at age-group level out of Wakefield and also played for Leeds, where he gained an outstanding reputation as a rugby thinker.

Among those who played alongside Lancaster in dark blue and went on to gain full caps were Gregor Townsend – who will be Scotland’s attack coach on February 4 – Rowen Shepherd, Stuart Campbell, Bryan Redpath and Andy Nicol, who said today: “I remember Stuart as a good player but it is fair to say I remember him more as an age-group coach with England.”

By appointing Lancaster and Rowntree, England appear to be buying time and plotting the way ahead carefully.