FORMER IRELAND AND Leinster centre Gordon D’Arcy believes the addition of former England boss Stuart Lancaster to the eastern province’s coaching staff is a welcome boost for his old side, after they struggled for large parts of last season.
“You’ve got to say he brings an awful lot to the table. He has coached at international level with probably the most scrutinised team behind the All Blacks in world rugby, and has proven his ability to do it,” D’Arcy tells the42.
“The best way to look at it is if you take away the last World Cup, which is about 5%-10% of his tenure, he was an incredibly successful coach, and the most successful English coach since Clive Woodward.”
“He has shown amazing strength of character to come in and work under a very young head coach, and again that same compliment goes to Leo Cullen, that he is happy to bring an international head coach to work as a senior coach with him.”
Lancaster left his role with England after they failed to progress from their pool at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Source: PA Archive/Press Association Images
The 46-year-old is expected to fill the vacated position of the former defence coach Kurt McQuilkin, who departed Leinster to return to New Zealand for personal reasons, but D’Arcy thinks Lancaster will have a much bigger role within the setup.
“I wouldn’t say he is going to be completely pigeonholed (as a defensive coach), he has a wealth of coaching experience.
“He is going to be helping Girvan (Dempsey) with the backs, he will probably helping with the attack too, but he is not just going to be a defensive coach. He will be developing a lot of facets to their game.”
A straightforward opening day victory in the Pro12 for last year’s table toppers over Treviso, was followed by a disappointing away loss to Glasgow on Saturday.
Irish internationals Jamie Heaslip, Devin Toner, Jack McGrath and Sean Cronin were among the province’s standout absentees in Scotland due to the IRFU player management programme, and D’Arcy feels that a lack of experience on the field last weekend proved costly as Leinster lost a 10-point lead in the second-half.
“At the 50th minute mark, they probably needed that old head to say we need a bit of territory, we are going to put these guys under pressure and we are going to play in the right areas of the field.
“The were missing some of their star players but they adapted well with the resources they had at their disposal.”
The three-time Heineken Cup winner thinks the younger players will need to work on being more clinical when they have they lead, as well as their game-management to ensure the team doesn’t leave a game they controlled for large periods empty-handed.
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“The younger players are getting exposure to high-quality games, but this comes at a cost with naivety in a forward pack. Young guys are gaining valuable experience but Leinster were left without any points from that game, but I’d be pretty happy with the start.”