“Stuart brings a wealth of experience and is a highly respected figure in world rugby”.
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Stuart Lancaster will fill the void left by Kurt McQuilkin at Leinster rugby.
The former England coach, whose three-and-a-half years in charge of the national side ended in tears at the World Cup 10 months ago, has been installed as senior coach for the rest of the season.
His understandable desire to spend more time on the training ground after his tenure as England head coach has been evidenced by the manner he has filled in the last nine months, with the National Football League franchise the Atlanta Falcons, British Cycling, the English FA and most recently coaching with Counties Manukau in New Zealand.
Cumbrian Lancaster, a former Scotland U21 worldwide, played his club rugby in Yorkshire and later became academy head and director of rugby at Leeds Carnegie – with whom he won promotion back to the Premiership – before joining the Rugby Football Union (RFU) as head of elite player development.
“‘The sad departure of Kurt McQuilkin due to family reasons has brought about an opportunity to bring in somebody new to the Leinster Rugby coaching team”, said head coach Cullen.
When asked what qualifications he possessed as a defence coach he mentioned the calibre of defense coaches including Andy Farrell, Mike Ford and Paul Gustard with whom he has collaborated in the past.
Lancaster is remembered as the England head coach who for four straight seasons was a Six Nations runner-up and then became the first to fail to steer a World Cup host nation out of the pool stage.
“(At) Counties Manukau my main remit was to coach defence.
“Having got to the final only to lose, I’m sure the burning desire is to win it this year”. In April he said he was ready to return to full-time coaching and was linked with club roles in England and France. I had a teaching career until I was 30 but I’ve been coaching now for 16 years.
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But Leinster CEO Mick Dawson expressed his delight at the high-profile appointment as Lancaster joins Cullen, Girvan Dempsey and John Fogarty on the province’s coaching staff. It suits me down to the ground just to get back into coaching again.
