England
Mr Nice Guy Stuart Lancaster found wanting with England
Tom Hamilton
November 11, 2015
Lancaster leaves England post

There is no schadenfreude over Stuart Lancaster's departure. Throughout his tenure he has acted with dignity, respect and stayed true to his values. His biggest off-field fault has been being too nice and that's where it all comes back to. Nice guys finish last when it comes to the brutality of a Rugby World Cup or those knife-edge calls when chasing Grand Slams. 

You will be hard pressed to find anyone who has a bad word to say about Lancaster, the individual. But away from that, there can be no denying that when it came to the do-or-die matches, Lancaster's men came up short -- whether that was the 30-3 drubbing in Wales when they were chasing a Grand Slam in 2013, or finishing six points off eventual championship winners Ireland despite hammering France in their final Six Nations match last year. They've been the bridesmaids, a tag they were unable to escape when it came to their hellish World Cup pool.

When the pressure was on, they came up short. Fine margins went against them and they failed to close out important games -- the biggest of which was against Wales in the pool stage where they were leading by 10 points with 28 minutes to go only to lose it. That scoreline 22-12 was repeated by Lancaster as if there was a woodpecker in his head hammering it home with unbearable repetition.

© Chris Lee - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images

When Lancaster took the job in 2012, between he and his captain Chris Robshaw was one Test cap. They always came at this project from a place of international unworldliness. Lancaster's domestic record also had little to boast. While his knowledge of the players at his disposal was unrivalled, he did not have a mantelpiece to rival Warren Gatland, Joe Schmidt or even his predecessor Martin Johnson who guided England to one Six Nations title alongside the multitude of honours from his playing career.

His first call was to axe the bulk of the 2011 World Cup squad as he aimed to exorcise the squad of the ills he deemed to have been behind their infamous campaign four years ago. Gone were experienced heads with younger, greener players fast-tracked into positions of responsibility. They'd have been new to the international rugby environment as was the coach, it was a case of finding feet and fast.

The media scrutiny shocked him as did the relentless pressure for results. There was never time to build in his mind, every game had to be won and won well -- he could not afford to roll the dice. Combinations had to be tested on the training paddock rather than in the Test match arena. So that meant that when it came down to it, he'd be reluctant to give a tyro like Henry Slade a game and would back the ever-reliant, if unspectacular, Brad Barritt. But then came the anomaly in Sam Burgess. His selection made no sense in the Lancaster credo, he had no 'credit in the bank' or proven Test match ability. His inclusion in the World Cup squad was symptomatic of a feeling of unease around their prospects in the tournament.

Sam Burgess
Sam Burgess© Chris Lee - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images

The highlights of his tenure were the win over the All Blacks in 2012, the triumph in Cardiff in February and a pair of wins against the Wallabies. Those wins were built on ballast in the pack but even that went missing during their World Cup campaign.

Now comes the inevitable speculation over who will replace him. The RFU can either look towards the Aviva Premiership for inspiration -- Conor O'Shea, Rob Baxter and Jim Mallinder will be the three standout candidates there -- or turn their eye abroad to Warren Gatland, Jake White or Eddie Jones. But each of those options would come with a hefty compensation bill and a break in their age-old policy of only appointing an English head coach. Jones is the early favourite.

Another failed World Cup campaign suggests it is time to do away with nationalistic principles and turn to a proven winner but whomever they opt for, they must keep Lancaster in a role at the RFU. Although, it will be different to his current post of 'international player development' as he has also stepped down from that.

In the press conference the day after their nadir against Australia, Lancaster name-checked Jack Clifford and Maro Itoje as two promising forwards who could be key players in the next World Cup. He knows the future generation better than anyone. But it is time for him to work alongside a 'Super Coach'.

It is a results business, Lancaster knows this, and Wednesday's announcement is testament to the ruthlessness of professional sport. This will have hurt him, but England must find a way to keep him involved in the process of turning this bunch of hugely promising players into world-beaters.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Tom Hamilton is the Associate Editor of ESPNscrum.

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