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Rugby

Alan Quinlan: Why recruiting likeable Stuart Lancaster is a major coup for Leinster

My first reaction to the Stuart Lancaster news was that it's a great coup for Leinster. I think i...



Alan Quinlan: Why recruiting l...
Rugby

Alan Quinlan: Why recruiting likeable Stuart Lancaster is a major coup for Leinster

My first reaction to the Stuart Lancaster news was that it's a great coup for Leinster.

I think it's a very good thing when you can appoint someone who's coached international rugby and has that experience to come in as one of the assistants, especially when there were some question marks about the coaching team that's there and the experience that they have. It's a brilliant acquisition.

He's a very positive guy. Obviously it ended disappointingly for him with England but everyone thought before that World Cup that England could possibly win it. I just think it was such a major disappointment for them at home and the axe obviously fell on him then.

But I think it's a brilliant coup for Leinster. It's a great appointment.

Alan Quinlan 

What he can add about culture is that he's a very likeable guy and a very good coach as well so the players really respect him and like him.

He made some mistakes around the Sam Burgess situation with England and I think backing him coming from rugby league didn't work out. But you live and die by the sword really and unfortunately it's so high profile for England.

I just think he'll bring a lovely calmness and a lot of experience and sometimes when you have a bit of adversity, you're out to prove a point.

Leinster will be getting a coach who's very experienced and wants to get back into rugby and it's a different role for him. He's coming from a head coach role but having that experience for Leo Cullen will be invaluable.

It's hugely disappointing to lose Kurt McQuilkin but they've appointed a brilliant guy in Lancaster.

Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster

It shows that Leo is open and that's a sign of his confidence about what he can do by bringing other people like that in around you.

That shows really good management and good decision-making and he'll have learnt a lot himself in the last year.

With his knowledge of the game as a player, sometimes it's difficult to make that transition very quickly and he was catapulted into the job and there are big expectations at Leinster as well after their success over the years.

It was a tough year for all the coaches and one that they didn't get silverware and people at Leinster expect to win trophies now and that's the kind of pressure that's there.

So Lancaster will be a good composed voice to have because he has the experience and had that bit of adversity.

He's not someone who's going to rock the boat. He's a composed, relaxed and likeable guy and positive throughout. You don't hear anyone ever having a bad word to say about him. He has the credentials to coach and he's going to be out on the field just coaching people and sometimes coaches miss that when they go into the senior roles because you don't get time to do that when you're a head coach as you have to manage so many different things. So I'm sure he'll enjoy it and he's excited by it. It's a road back into rugby for him and he'll want to make it work.

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