Stuart Lancaster: I’d like to end up coaching in the Premiership

Stuart Lancaster admits his ultimate aim is to coach in England again one day but for now his focus is on helping prepare Leinster for an assault on the Champions Cup.
The three-time European champions face Castres on Saturday, with Lancaster back in a hands-on coaching role for the first time since being relieved of his position as England head coach following last year’s humiliating World Cup disaster.
Lancaster concedes the magnitude of that failure will always hurt but insists his joining the Irish province had nothing to do with proving critics wrong.
He told The Rugby Paper: “I don’t think what happened last year will disappear for anyone involved, whether it’s backroom staff, players or coaches, but I’m just looking forward to getting into it again now and getting my teeth stuck into the project here.
“I got the England job and it was a great opportunity, even at the interim stage, and I enjoyed it. It was a shame the way it worked out in the final months but I can look back now and take pride in bringing through a lot of players who’ve done well.
“I’m not sure how many I gave their first cap to, but telling guys they’re playing for England for the first time is a huge privilege and I was delighted to see so many going well in the Six Nations and in Australia because I know how hard they’d worked.
“Eddie Jones has come in with Steve Borthwick and Paul Gustard and done a fantastic job and built on the foundations. There’s a massive autumn coming up but I’m confident England will go well and then have a really good contingent of British Lions.
“For me, it’s not about proving anything now. I know in my own mind what went well during my time with England and what I could have done better, so it’s a case of passing that on to Leinster rather than proving things to anyone else.”
Lancaster has made an impact at Leinster, with players receptive to his ideas, and they head into a Champions Cup pool that also contains Montpellier and Northampton in fine fettle having won four of five games prior to yesterday’s clash with Munster.
Lancaster said: “It’s great to be coaching a talented group of players who’ve got a lot of experience but are still keen to learn and get even better.
“They’ve been coached by good people – Michael Cheika, Joe Schmidt or Matt O’Connor – so there’s a good foundation and I’m providing input on attack and defence alongside Girvan Dempsey and John Fogarty.
“Expectation is high at Leinster. They’ve won the European Cup twice in the last five years, so they want to win it again now.
“Leo Cullen picks the team and chooses the strategy, but it’s great to back be in a senior coaching role.”
Lancaster is contracted to Leinster until May, after which he is open to offers.
He added: “I’m open-minded. I’ve learnt not to look too far ahead and just get on with the day job, but there were four or five other things that could have happened in the weeks leading up to the Leinster opportunity, which is encouraging.
“Long-term, I’d like to end up coaching in England, potentially the Premiership. But equally, coaching overseas, whether in Ireland, France or the Southern Hemisphere, is something I have always wanted to do – if it’s right for my family.”
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