Rugby World Cup: England 60-3 Uruguay
Lancaster accepts England failed to 'nail' key moments in big games
PA Sports
October 10, 2015
Samoa 33-36 Scotland / England 60-3 Uruguay (Australia only)

Stuart Lancaster says it will be hard to contemplate a future in which he is not England's head coach, be he understands "it's a results business."

The Rugby Football Union is to carry out a review into England's failure to qualify from Pool A for the knockout stage of the Rugby World Cup, and Lancaster's position as head coach is under serious threat despite having a contract until 2020.

© Richard Heathcote - World Rugby/World Rugby

But the coach said he had been buoyed by the support that he and the England team had received in the week building up to the 60-3 victory over Uruguay at the City of Manchester Stadium, despite the hosts'.

"I think anyone in my position who has worked since December 2011 to this point would say it would be hard to walk away from, but I understand it's a results business," Lancaster said.

"It's not just what's in my mind - there's a lot of other people who are going to have a say - but it has been a tough week and I just wanted to get it over with.

England sign-off with win over Uruguay
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"A lot has been going on this week. There have been a lot of people with opinions and what I have tried to do is make sure the culture of the team remains the same. Other teams under this type of pressure and scrutiny might have cracked, but I don't think we did.

"It has been a tough week for the players and certainly the reaction of the crowd was a lift; I thought the crowd were brilliant tonight."

Lancaster said that he still believed in his "core values" but he accepted that England had failed to "nail" key moments in big games.

"Certainly I have worked hard and tried to do the right thing and make the right decisions on the core values," he said.

"I went to Eccles Rugby Club this week and lots of people came and said 'we are behind you and the team because we like what the team stands for'. Some people might think it's old fashioned but I think it's right.

"We have not nailed every big moment in every big game and I think that has hurt us."

England scored 10 tries against Uruguay including hat-tricks by Nick Easter and Jack Nowell, plus a first international try for Henry Slade, and Wales' earlier defeat by Australia meant that England would have qualified from Pool A on bonus points had they kicked a late penalty against the Welsh and drawn the game instead of choosing to take a lineout and go for the try and a victory.

Lancaster refused to dwell on what might have been. "What frustrates me more is that we were 22-12 up and dominating for 60-odd minutes playing good Test match rugby in a high-pressure atmosphere, and we let that slip," Lancaster said.

"That frustration will be there for ever. One thing that will help the players is the Premiership starting again next week and most of them are going to go straight back into it. "It's slightly different for coaches ... you've got to wait a long time potentially ... only joking.

"Players can get back on and play but I don't think the pain of this will ever go away."

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