England rugby coach Stuart Lancaster focused on attacking vision and world ...

“It would never happen in rugby,” he says. “If any player went on like that,

the others in the dressing room would sort him out immediately.”

This is his second summer break in charge of the English team. But not for him

a month off, feet up on a beach. Rather, he is busy assessing schemes,

meeting coaches, ensuring that everyone – from club stalwarts to those

running local youth teams – is focused on the single goal: making England

the world’s best.

On the day we meet he is at Wellington College’s magnificent rugby facility,

discussing how initiatives like the BMW Performance Academy – designed to

provide tailored health, fitness and conditioning support across the junior

age groups – can enhance the development of elite youngsters.

“The quality of the players coming through our programmes now is the best it’s

been,” he insists. “The club academy system started in 2000, and it’s coming

to real fruition. That was my first role, I left teaching to become academy

manager at Leeds.

“But where our system has got so much better recently is at identifying late

developers. We were always quite good at spotting 15-year olds. But

truthfully it’s only when the player reaches 20 that you know.”

He cites Joe Launchbury – let go by Saracens at 18 yet a central member of

England’s team at 21 – as a prime example of how the game has buffed up its

methodology. Not just in spotting a good player, but ensuring he is properly

prepared for the step up to the big time.

Because of its intense physical demands, rugby can provide a brutal

examination of youthful potential. Timing a young player’s progress,

Lancaster says, is a crucial part of management. The memory of Mathew Tait,

his career knocked back several years when, as a callow teen, he was sacked

by Gavin Henson on his debut, weighs heavy.

“You’re very unlikely to have an Ashton Agar in rugby,” he says of the

19-year-old Australian spinner playing in the Ashes weeks after his

first-class debut. “Chuck someone into the international rugby side at 19,

that’s tough, physically, mentally, in every way. For even the most

exceptional talent, the right pathway is to come through the under-20

set-up, prove your worth in the Premiership before moving on to the England

team.”

And what Lancaster is working on behind the scenes is to make the transition,

from club academies, through junior representative teams, to the senior

squad, as seamless as possible. Conditioning, procedures, even – eventually

– line-out calls will be the same across the age groups. However, he does

not see English rugby adopting a Barcelona-esque unity of coaching where

juniors and first team play the same way.

“You need consistency. In training, you have the same philosophy,” he says.

“That said you have to give the individual coach flexibility, give him the

room to develop the player. And there’s a different emphasis. Up to

under-18s it’s less about the results, more about getting the broad spectrum

of skills embedded. The under-20s are about narrowing that down, so that

they learn to win.

“For the seniors it’s about winning. Nothing else, just winning. But there is

an alignment in approach that allows me to see whether they can make the

transition. And actually it is becoming easier for them to do that. We want

them to feel comfortable at every stage. We’re trying to get them to think

of England as their second club.”

And through the growing unity of purpose he sees a recognisable style

beginning to emerge.

“I have got a vision. But it is dictated by what it will take to win. Most

sides are the same from a strength and conditioning point of view. There

isn’t the drop off in physical condition in the last 20 minutes like you

used to get. The second tier nations – Samoa and so on – are as organised

defensively, harder to break down. So the difference will be in the point of

attack. If we base our game on being in good condition physically and being

great defensively I don’t think that will be good enough. It has to be

attack. New Zealand won 22 of their last 23 internationals. Their game is

based on fluidity of movement, skills, athleticism, counter-attack on

turnover ball. They’re the best side. That’s what we’ve got to develop. I

think we have the players to do it.”

Though if anyone is expecting to see England sides of the future constantly

chucking the ball around like the 1970s Barbarians, they may be

disappointed.

“Sometimes people forget we don’t often play in weather like this,” he says,

pointing out across Wellington’s baking lawns. “Sometimes it’s raining in

Dublin and you have to win a different way. It will be 12-10 with no tries.

People might say, what happened to flair? Well, you’re playing in Dublin in

the rain is what happened. Our mindset through all the age groups is to play

challenging rugby.”

It is a mindset he says will see England across the autumn internationals,

through the Six Nations and on towards the 2015 World Cup (“there’s only 23

games to go – not far off”). And through it all, his goal is a simple one.

“To get us to where New Zealand are,” Lancaster adds. “Get us to that

combination of individual skills and good decision making in attack to break

down the most organised defence. Everyone needs to work to that. The more

exposure our players get to it through academies, age-group squads, through

their clubs, the better they will be when they come to us. We’re getting

there.”

BMW is a proud sponsor of England Rugby, driving the Ultimate Performance

through the BMW Performance Academy

England rugby coach Stuart Lancaster focused on attacking vision and world ...