Lancaster to challenge Mallett

Stuart Lancaster confirmed he has applied to become England’s next full-time coach after demonstrating his passion for the post by shedding blood during the side’s Calcutta Cup win away to Scotland.

The first match of Lancaster’s reign as acting head coach saw a revamped England team begin the defence of their Six Nations Championship title with a 13-6 victory at Murrayfield on Saturday.

And so taken was Lancaster with England flyhalf Charlie Hodgson’s try early in the second half, he accidentally punched a light-fitting in the coaches’ box and had to have stitches inserted in a finger wound.

“My application has gone in,” said Lancaster, who will be competing against candidates recommended to the Rugby Football Union (RFU) by corporate head-hunters Odgers.

He will go up against former Springbok and Italy coach Nick Mallett, who also confirmed at the weekend that his name is in the hat and that he is now “awaiting the interview process”.

Mallett – who won a record 17 consecutive Tests as Bok coach, to go along with a Tri-Nations title – was replaced as coach of the Italian side after the World Cup by Jacques Brunel. He took six months off, but said he would be keen to take on the England job later this year.

Lancaster is also determined to prove he is more than just a part-time mentor.

“To take the head coaching job of England and to get the first win was the greatest feeling I have had in rugby,” Lancaster said.

“I punched the ceiling light and split my finger when Charlie scored. I asked the doc after the game whether it needed to be looked at and he put in two stitches!”

Lancaster, formerly in charge of England’s reserve Saxons, was granted a trial run as boss of the senior team after Martin Johnson’s resignation following England’s World Cup flop in New Zealand.

England, arguably the best resourced team in international rugby, played poorly at the World Cup before losing in the quarterfinals to France and their performances were compounded by a series of embarrassing off-field incidents.

It all left Lancaster with the tricky task of simultaneously trying to restore the squad’s tarnished reputation, begin the process of rebuilding for the 2015 World Cup in England and deliver wins in this Six Nations while all the time not knowing if he’d been in post beyond this Championship.

“There was a responsibility and a pressure to provide the performance, particularly given we had taken over a group that was struggling,” he said.

“It has been pretty tough for England since the World Cup quarter-final game against France.

“We have not won here [Murrayfield] since 2004 and to have come away with a win has hopefully given people at home something to smile about.”

Hodgson’s converted try, after he charged down Australia-born Scotland counterpart Dan Parks’s kick, proved the difference on the scoreboard between the two sides.

But victory also owed much to the defensive discipline of a team where seven players – three in the 1st XV and four off the bench – made their international debuts and Chris Robshaw captained England for the first time.

That such a raw side conceded just two kickable penalties was greatly to their credit and a step up from the final few matches of the Johnson era where England often found themselves on the wrong side of the referee.

Since his appointment, Lancaster has spoken repeatedly of the need to ‘value the shirt’ and brought in England rugby league captain Jamie Peacock, ex-England footballer Gary Neville and a British Army officer who’d served in Afghanistan to reinforce his point during the squad’s pre Six Nations camp.

“We have been delighted with the attitude we showed, particularly in defence. Our discipline was very good and so was our desire to work hard, play for each other, play for the shirt,” Lancaster said.

“They are the things we have talked about and it was great to see them come through. If we hadn’t built the foundations in the way we did, you don’t get the quality of commitment in the team,” he added ahead of next weekend’s match away to Italy.

“You could hear the players talk about some of the things the speakers said. It all adds up to building a team.

“To get a win first up gives the players confidence we are going in the right direction. I think they knew it but it was nice to reinforce it.

“I always believed after the World Cup it was an opportunity to start again, it was time to build a new England team.”

AFP