Stuart Lancaster‘s move to Racing 92 at the end of the season has been confirmed today by current club Leinster.
The move has been much rumoured, first reported as being likely in The Rugby Paper’s Blindside Column back in July.
Lancaster has been senior coach at Leinster for six years, winning four league titles and a European Champions Cup since he joined the club.
With current Racing head coach Laurent Travers set to move upstairs into the boardroom, space has been made for Lancaster to come in as director of rugby.
It will be the first time since leading England in their home World Cup in 2015 that Lancaster has been in charge of a team, having worked under Leo Cullen at Leinster.
Speaking on Leinster’s website, Lancaster said, “I will be eternally grateful to Leo…and the whole Leinster organisation for the opportunity they gave me and my family back in 2016.
“Initially it was for just one season and here I am entering my seventh and that is a reflection on all the players past and present I have worked with and the people of Leinster and Ireland who have made me and my family feel so welcome.”
Today marks exactly seven years since England were beaten in their first key game in the aforementioned home World Cup, a 28-25 defeat to Wales which all-but sealed Lancaster’s fate.
He breathed new life into an England team which had consistently failed in the eight years succeeding their World Cup triumph, but four times fell agonisingly short.
In the first two years, defeats to Wales twice prevented England from winning a grand slam, and in his final two Ireland edged out his side by less than seven points on points difference on both occasions.
After the World Cup exit, he was removed as England coach, but can be credited with bringing through the likes of Owen Farrell, George Ford, Henry Slade, Jonny May, Jack Nowell, Jamie George and Jonathan Joseph, all of whom have gone on to be important players for Eddie Jones to varying degrees.
And his time at Leinster proved his coaching credentials once again, though returning to a leadership role will no doubt be a test for a man who admitted he struggled with the pressure of one last time out.
While excited by the opportunity, Lancaster is focussed on the job of trying to win silverware in his final year at Leinster, after they suffered a pair of disappointing defeats in both the Champions Cup final and URC semis to leave last year empty handed.
He added: “I have always wanted to challenge myself as a coach in different ways and the opportunity to coach in France at a club like Racing 92 is an exciting one and I will look forward to that challenge when it comes.
“In the meantime, I really want to give everything to the whole of Leinster Rugby and the supporters in the next eight months as I feel we have more to come as we drive towards the exciting challenge ahead both in the URC and in Europe.”
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