Stuart Lancaster might add another coach – Rugby News Update
Stuart Lancaster, the head coach of England, is open to the idea of adding another person to his backroom staff, essentially opening the door for Andy Farrell, a former rugby league player and coach with the Saracens, to join his coaching team.
England has recently returned from South Africa, where they played the Springboks in a three-match test series, along with playing two other midweek games. Mike Catt and Graham Rowntree helped him during the tour in coaching capacities.
Catt was appointed on an interim basis prior to the tour, and is yet to hear about his fate. The former World Cup winner was not the first choice, and only got the position once Farrell and Wayne Smith, a former All Blacks player, refused the job. However,
Lancaster has indicated that he is open to the idea of adding a fourth person, meaning that both Catt and Farrell can work with England simultaneously.
"Having three members [Lancaster, Catt and Graham Rowntree] has worked well but I wouldn't discount a fourth person coming in to give me a bit of breathing space," Lancaster told the RFU. "I will do what is best for the England team, certainly."
The most important aspect that the head coach has to deal with currently is announcing the Elite Players Squad for the next season. He has been impressed by the performance of the players during the tour, even though his team lost the test series 2 – 0,
losing the opening two tests, while the third ended in a stalemate.
"I was pleased with the way James Haskell and Danny Care came back in and showed their experience," Lancaster said. "To have 10, 12 and 13 [Owen Farrell, Manu Tuilagi and Jonathan Joseph] all 21 years old and younger was great, too."
He spoke about future matches and said, “The autumn internationals are going to be fantastic and to have those four games at Twickenham is great.”
Lancaster has important decisions to make, and the fate of Farrell rests with him, now that he is available again.
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