Stuart Lancaster leaves nothing to chance – Rugby News Update
Stuart Lancaster, the 42-year-old head coach of the England rugby team is leaving nothing to chance for his side's tour of South Africa, where they play a three-match test series against the Springboks, a side they have not beaten since 2000.
Under Lancaster, the English team has witnessed a bit of resurgence from the laughing stock that they had become at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Having been appointed the interim coach for the 2012 Six Nations tournament, he got the position on a permanent
basis after England won four out of the five matches.
However, his biggest test yet is going to be the tour of South Africa, a country he knows very little about, but is hitting the books to learn more, and even visited the country to find out the psyche of the people.
"I wanted to know more about the texture of the country, the feel of the place, so I asked a guy to write a report on the culture of South African rugby, what makes them special as a rugby-playing nation, as well as providing analysis on the Bulls and the
Stormers and on Heyneke Meyer [the new Springbok coach] and his probable coaching team," Lancaster told the
Sunday Telegraph.
Recalling an earlier incident while he was at the Six Nations tournament, he asked his Englishmen if they were ready for the tour in the summer, and how it will be different this time. One of his players replied that we are already speaking about the tour.
Mostly the players think of summer tours as drags, after a long season.
Speaking about the difference between the two countries, he touched upon various facets. He said, "Whilst I was there I saw the column inches devoted to the sport in the newspapers," and he further added, "Here we are dominated by football. There it was
rugby.”
He believes that England can break their seven-match losing streak against South Africa, and he feels that the homework he has done on the Springboks will help England succeed. It will be important for Lancaster to keep his new look England side in the right
frame of mind.
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