Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Chris Hewett: In Stuart Lancaster England have a teacher eager to learn

He sees is as a sign of strength to sit down and listen to those offering fresh perspectives on well-worn themes

Chris Hewett
Monday 28 January 2013 20:00 EST
Comments
England coach Stuart Lancaster has overseen steady improvement
England coach Stuart Lancaster has overseen steady improvement (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Any man who applies for a head of department's job at a high school before actually qualifying as a teacher, as the England rugby coach Stuart Lancaster did way back when in the 1990s, is not obviously short of positivity, enthusiasm and self-belief – three foundation stones of what he calls the "pyramid of success". Another of those building blocks is the "balanced ego": a virtue only occasionally associated with sports folk operating at elite level.

To the 43-year-old Cumbrian's mind – and when it comes to high performance and its maximisation, his mind is patently far better developed than his critics had us believe this time last year – that balance is achieved, at least in part, by the open acknowledgement that there is always more to learn. Hence his strong attachment to the musings and theories of such fabled figures as the American football coaches Bill Walsh and Vince Lombardi, the Stateside basketball boss John Wooden (who first came up with the "pyramid" idea) and the Australian rugby league strategist Wayne Bennett.

During his frequent long drives from the north of England to Twickenham or the red-rose base in Bagshot – he has been known to set off at 3am in an effort to spare himself the worst miseries of the M25 – he listens to the notions of Walsh and Lombardi in "talking book" form. In conversation, he frequently cites other influences on his career, not least one of those who coached the England team before him, Brian Ashton.

Lancaster routinely asks leading practitioners from other sports, both major and minor, to address his players at squad gatherings. Last week the former England cricket captain Andrew Strauss was invited to the pre-Six Nations training camp in Leeds, as was Toni Minichiello, the coach of the Olympic heptathlon gold medallist Jessica Ennis. Previously, he has persuaded the former England footballer Gary Neville and the Tour de France-winning cyclist Bradley Wiggins to offer their thoughts on sporting success.

To Lancaster, it is a sign of strength, rather than of weakness, to sit down and listen to those offering fresh perspectives on well-worn themes, just as he is happy to give the floor to his England back-room colleagues when the situation demands. As head coach, he played a strong hand in establishing new ground rules for the national squad, jettisoning those players he felt were more trouble than they were worth and reminding others, some of them all too easily led during the tawdry World Cup campaign of 2011, of their responsibilities to the shirt. But there are natural communicators of a different stamp in his set-up – the authoritative and straight-talking Andy Farrell, for instance – and he understands their value.

Lancaster frequently talks of the "chemistry" in his coaching team being all-important and is a believer in partnership. The "great man" theory of everything – the idea that nothing was ever achieved except by one man acting alone – is not for him. He is not the first England rugby coach to cherry-pick the best that has been thought and done across the broad spectrum of sport: Sir Clive Woodward did something similar during the years that led to the World Cup victory in 2003. He may, however, be the first to engage in a cross-sport alliance on this scale.

Five wise men: coaching club

Stuart Lancaster

Has worked for the RFU for four years; appointed England coach last year after a successful interim stint.

Mike Forde

Director of football operations at Chelsea since 2007. His remit includes player recruitment.

Geoff McGrath

Runs McLaren Applied Technologies, which has branched out into helping other sports.

Dave Brailsford

Oversaw British cycling's historic 2012 – a first ever Tour de France victory, and eight Olympic golds.

Damien Comolli

Left Liverpool last April after an unsuccessful spell as director of football strategy.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in