Stuart Lancaster Steps Down as England Head Coach: Latest Details and Reaction
England’s rugby union team are on the lookout for a new head coach after it was confirmed on Wednesday that Stuart Lancaster has resigned from his post following a disastrous home World Cup.
News of Lancaster’s departure came via England Rugby:
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Lancaster’s departure will come as a surprise to few after England’s catastrophic World Cup campaign. They became the first host nation ever to crash out at the group stages, losing to rivals Wales and Australia in embarrassing fashion.
BBC Sport's Sonja McLaughlan relayed Lancaster's statement upon his resignation:
Rugby Football Union chief executive Ian Ritchie told reporters the decision to move forward with a different coach was made by both parties involved, per Rugby World:
Per Sky Sports, he also confirmed Lancaster will be leaving RFU completely, and the organisation is committed to bringing the best coach possible into the fold, whether he's English or not.
Off-field problems have emerged since the World Cup that have done Lancaster no favours.
England kit man Dave Tennison is currently under investigation by the RFU for allegedly giving a number of England players poor investment advice, per BBC Sport.
Sam Burgess' recent return to rugby league also prompted questions over how his code-switch was dealt with, while full-back Mike Brown claimed he has lost trust in his fellow England players following dressing room leaks to the press, per the Telegraph's Gavin Mairs.
Planet Rugby's Ben Coles gave a fair assessment of Lancaster's time in charge:
There had been some small signs of progress under Lancaster prior to the World Cup, but the team never delivered consistent performances against high-class opposition during his tenure.
Taking over in 2011 from Martin Johnson on an interim basis, there were moments of early promise in the subsequent Six Nations Championship that landed Lancaster a full-time job.
But England have never quite been able to make that final step in the competition, finishing as Six Nations runners-up four times under Lancaster; the 30-3 loss to hand the title to Wales in 2013 was particularly galling and set a worrying precedent for high-pressure encounters to come.
Indeed, it was a brittle mentality that was on show at the World Cup, as England were outfought by the Welsh at Twickenham, before being comprehensively outplayed at the same venue by Australia a week later.
Richard Jolly of ESPN was pretty scathing in his assessment of Lancaster’s skills as a head coach in the wake of the team's elimination:
There have been some standout moments for Lancaster. The 38-21 win over New Zealand in 2012 was England’s best performance for years.
But under Lancaster, England have too rarely showed their very best in the big games.
Damien O’Meara of RTE Sport had some sympathy for his plight:
Looking forward, it’ll be intriguing to see which direction the RFU turns in an attempt to re-establish the team back at the summit of world rugby.
Australia coach Michael Cheika has reportedly been sounded out as a potential option to replace Lancaster, per the Australian (via the Guardian).
Sir Clive Woodward, who guided England to World Cup glory in 2003, would be a popular choice, but according to Chris Foy of the Daily Mail, he is “not interested” in being head coach.
Japan boss Eddie Jones admitted the prospect of taking on the job would be appealing and that working alongside Woodward in the infrastructure would be “interesting,” per Foy.
Regardless of who takes the job on, it’s going to be a hugely difficult task to haul this group of deflated players off the floor, but if they can expedite a turnaround, the prestige accrued would be massive.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
