Smith the guiding light for ex-England rugby coach Lancaster
Lancaster bounced back once with Leinster when he was cast aside by England after their disastrous first round exit at the 2015 Rugby World Cup they hosted.
Now the 55-year-old Englishman must do it all over again, this time with Ireland's weakest province Connacht, after being dismissed by Top 14 side Racing 92 earlier this season.
Smith's path to coaching redemption after being fired as All Blacks coach in 2001 came via English Premiership side Northampton Saints.
It ended with him becoming a two-time World Cup winner (2011/15) as assistant coach of the All Blacks to first Graham Henry and then Steve Hansen -- a knighthood followed to boot.
"He's won the World Cup but he wasn't the head coach," said Lancaster of Smith.
"He's respected as a coach who's made a difference to people.
"That means more to me than anything. Making sure you're there to enjoy your time with your mates, and that your family enjoy it.
"Everyone's part of the journey."
Lancaster, who guided Leinster to four European Cup finals with the highlight winning the 2018 edition, said he has to pinch himself at times to grasp what he has made of his career.
"I was asked this question: if you look back to when you were a teacher, would you take where you're at?" he said.
"If you said to me when I was a teacher at 28 years old that I would end up coaching England, coaching in France, coaching in Ireland, winning the European Cup, beating the All Blacks? I'd pull your hand off."
'Top of Everest'
At the same time, though, he feels he still has to accomplish more if he is to retire a contented man.
"But if you said to me right now, am I satisfied and ready to finish?" he said.
"No, I'm not.
"I'm still seeking the real true fulfilment. A New Zealand psychologist, Dave Hadfield, said if you were to retire now, would your soul be at rest? I went, no, I don't think it is.
"Until that happens, I'll keep on going. My wife (Nina) says to me, 'When the hell is that going to be?'"
To that he replied dryly "when Connacht win the European (Champions) Cup)" which given he has signed a two year contract is asking something as they finished 13th in the URC Championship this term.
Lancaster says things did not work out at Racing because of a combination of things, although he believes he was moving things in the right direction.
"I was promised to be in control of the rugby programme but that never really happened," he said.
"The lack of patience: it takes more than 16 months to turn around an organisation and to have it pulled away from you when, yeah, it's not going great but it's going in the right direction.
"You look at Manchester United. Once you're in that downward slide of poor recruitment, poor coaching, poor culture, poor identity, there's no magic wand you can wave in a club environment."
Lancaster may have been let go by Racing 92 but he remained very much in demand.
Wales and Australia were linked with him, but after seemingly been in pole position for the Wallabies post he lost out to Les Kiss.
Lancaster said he was mindful of there being a life outside rugby.
"What I don't want to do is keep trying to get to the very top of Everest all the time and then get to 70 years old and realise 'Jesus Christ, I've just missed life'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
7 hours ago
- France 24
Australia's Webster looks to cap memorable 2025 with WTC final appearance
Webster only won the first of his three Test caps in January and was in the side when Australia played their most recent red-ball international, against Sri Lanka in February. The 31-year-old all-rounder would relish the opportunity to play for the World Test champions on the hallowed turf at Lord's. "It's pretty special. I've been here a couple of times to watch a few games throughout the years, but to be out in the middle, yeah, extra special," he told reporters at Lord's on Sunday. "If I get the nod, I'm looking forward to Wednesday." Webster, averaging exactly 50 with the bat in Test cricket and a lively medium-pacer, provides Australia with a valuable all-rounder option at a time when Cameron Green is prevented from bowling by a back injury. The inclusion of Webster would ease the burden on Australia's main pace bowlers and senior spinner Nathan Lyon, with fast bowler Josh Hazlewood saying: "I remember back to when we didn't have one (an all-rounder) and it was brutal. "It was tough work. It just sort of snowballs if you don't have that all-rounder and you're just continually bowling." Webster added: "When you go into a game and you've got three front-line quicks and a spinner, it's always nice to have a guy who can potentially get you a wicket or two, keep the big boys fresh for another spell or the second innings. "That's my role in the team and if they (Australia's selectors) decide to go that way, I'll give my best," said the Tasmanian, who has taken three Test wickets. Webster heads into the final with recent experience of English conditions -- and the Dukes ball that will be used in the showpiece -- after a stint at county side Warwickshire. "It's always nice to get over here and get amongst the Dukes ball," he said. "Obviously, it reacts differently here with the swing and the bounce, so to have four games at Warwickshire... I think it's the best prep I could have given myself going into this Test." While swing can be a relatively short-lived phenomenon in Australian conditions, Webster believes it is a useful weapon in England. "Over here, you're sort of always up against the swinging ball," he said. "One reason why I keep coming over here is to try and get better in these conditions." But while Webster is grateful for his time with Warwickshire, his new wife has not been quite so impressed by the weather on her 'honeymoon'. "She probably would have rather somewhere a bit more sunny than Birmingham," said Webster. "But I'm sure we'll get away at some point in the next few months after the cricket's done and take time to celebrate then." © 2025 AFP
France 24
8 hours ago
- France 24
Mbappe sends France past Germany to claim Nations League bronze
Mbappe wove his magic in a heavily changed France squad. Germany dominated the opening half but Mbappe provided the breakthrough just before half-time, carving a shot through a crowded penalty box to bring up his 50th goal in France colours. Late in the second, with the hosts desperately looking for an equaliser, Mbappe snatched a poor Germany pass on the half-way line and rampaged forward, before setting up Michael Olise. The French showed their incredible depth, while Mbappe again demonstrated his finishing and pace. For Germany, who lost two straight straight matches for the first time since 2023, questions remain over how much they have truly improved under Julian Nagelsmann. In the lead-up to Sunday's encounter, France coach Didier Deschamps admitted the Nations League clash with old rivals Germany "isn't the most important game for us," with a clear focus on next year's World Cup. Deschamps made eight changes from the semi-final loss to Spain, with only captain Mbappe, goalie Mike Maignan and midfield veteran Adrien Rabiot keeping their starting spots. Nagelsmann also rotated heavily, making four changes including bringing striker Niclas Fuellkrug back into the starting XI. The Germans had a wealth of chances in the opening half. Karim Adeyemi won a penalty but it was overturned by VAR for diving with. Florian Wirtz hit the post. Mbappe struck just before half-time. The Real Madrid man collected a pass which floated over the 1.77-metre tall Joshua Kimmich's head, took a touch and hammered a shot home with his preferred right foot. Nagelsmann replaced rookie striker Nick Woltemade with Deniz Undav at half-time. The move seemed to have paid immediate dividends Undavhad the ball in the net, but his effort was chalked off for a foul in the build-up by Fuellkrug. Germany dominated possession and field position, but that left them vulnerable on the break to France's lightning-fast forwards, led by Mbappe. Marcus Thuram hit the post on 58 minutes. Then Mbappe and substitute Olise, who plays in Germany for Bayern Munich, combined to seal the match for France. The French captain pounced on a poor Robin Koch clearance on the half-way line and ran goalwards, squaring for the onrushing Olise to tap home with six minutes remaining. Later on Sunday, reigning Nations League and Euros champions Spain face Portugal in Munich to decide this year's crown.
France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
Sloppy England give Tuchel food for thought on road to World Cup
Tuchel's side were booed in Saturday's World Cup qualifier in Barcelona after failing to impress against a team ranked 173rd in the world. Harry Kane's 50th-minute goal extended Tuchel's winning start to three games. But after underwhelming victories over Albania and Latvia in March, the Euro 2024 runners-up were well below their best in a dismal display that left Tuchel bemoaning his players' lacklustre attitude. "The last half-an-hour I don't like it at all because I think we lacked everything that is needed in a World Cup qualifier," Tuchel said. "There's lots to get better. At the moment everything is a learning period so we're smarter than before. "We will talk about it honestly and directly and try to do it better." Senegal sit 19th in the world rankings and will pose the toughest test for Tuchel since he took charge at the start of the year. With only a small number of international breaks left before the 2026 World Cup, Tuchel won't go easy on his players, even though they looked fatigued after a gruelling domestic campaign. "I don't forget because there's not so many matches," he said. "I think it's necessary that we have a good look at it and then present in detail to the players what we don't like, and to present it in a video session what we have to do better and what are the standards and what we did good." 'We got away with it' Kane has scored in all three matches under Tuchel, his former manager at Bayern Munich, with his latest effort extending the striker's England record tally to 72. But England captain Kane took little pleasure from his latest goal and echoed Tuchel's belief that the Andorra game should be used as a lesson. "It's down to us now to go analyse it, look back and try and learn from it because condition-wise it's going to be very similar to next summer -- dry pitch, warm weather, humid," he said. "We were just lacking quality, looked a bit fatigued both physically and mentally and, yeah, we got away with it because we're a good team and they had a couple of half-chances there where we didn't get punished. But ultimately, it wasn't good enough." Tuchel wants England to play with a more dynamic approach that mirrors the swashbuckling style used by many Premier League teams. But he knows it will be hard to implement his tactics with so few opportunities to work with the players. "Absolutely. It's our second camp. I think we can do much better, all of us, and that includes me," he said. "It always takes two to tango, but we need to do better at breaking down deep opponents. We played now three times against a 5-4-1, but there are no excuses. "The lack of counter-pressing and the lack of ball wins and the lack of being aggressive in duels is basic in football.
