logo
Former England and Leinster boss Stuart Lancaster announced as new Connacht head coach

Former England and Leinster boss Stuart Lancaster announced as new Connacht head coach

The Irish Sun2 days ago

STUART Lancaster has been announced as the head coach of Connacht rugby for next season.
The Englishman will take over from interim coach Collie Tucker who finished the season with Connacht.
Tucker will take up the scrum and contact coach role and John Muldoon will be maul and lineout coach.
Rod Seib is joining the backroom team as the new attack coach.
More updates to follow.....
1
The 55 year-old will lead Connacht into next season

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Three rookies primed for a huge summer tour with Ireland
Three rookies primed for a huge summer tour with Ireland

Extra.ie​

time30 minutes ago

  • Extra.ie​

Three rookies primed for a huge summer tour with Ireland

Three exciting rookies are set to make their mark as Ireland gears up for a massive summer tour filled with promise and opportunity. All eyes will be on the fresh faces as they look to impress and stake a claim for a long-term place in the Irish squad this summer. Here are the three rising stars who could shape Ireland's future, adding new depth and energy to the squad: Paddy McCarthy Paddy McCarthy. Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile Younger brother of Leinster, Ireland and soon-to-be Lions lock Joe McCarthy, the powerful loosehead prop has the same physical profile and mean edge to thrive at the top level. Along with Sam Prendergast, Brian Gleeson and Gus McCarthy, he was a standout performer on an Ireland U20 side which reached a Junior World Cup final in 2023. The 21-year-old has suffered his fair share of injury setbacks of late, which has hindered him to just six senior appearances for Leinster thus far. McCarthy remains a raw prospect and he has endured a few tough outings at scrum time on the AIL beat with Trinity. But the Leinster frontrower is highly-rated and it's clear the Irish management see him as a player who could move through the ranks quickly in the coming years. Ben Murphy Ben Murphy. Pic: Thomas Flinkow/Sportsfile Connacht had a tough season but Ben Murphy had a consistently excellent campaign in a struggling team. Murphy came through the ranks with his home province Leinster but decided to seek pastures new with Connacht at the beginning of this season. Seeing the likes of Jamison Gibson-Park, Luke McGrath and rookie Fintan Gunne ahead of him in the pecking order, he set forth for Galway with the hope of getting more top-level exposure. And despite the presence of Caolin Blade and Matthew Devine, Murphy quickly become a first-choice option out West. The 24-year-old played 17 games for this adopted province this term. A lively player with an eye for a break, Murphy will be one to watch on tour. Hugh Gavin Hugh Gavin. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile Bundee Aki 2.0. The promising 21-year-old midfielder is cut from the same mould as the Ireland stalwart and Clan Terrace favourite. Gavin offers the same gainline-breaking power as Aki. Gavin was ever-present for the Ireland U20s during their prolific 2023 and 2024 campaigns. He operated on the wing and centre during his time with Richie Murphy's side, demonstrating his versatility. A native of Galway, Gavin is stepped in the history of the province and is one of the club's biggest prospects. He has already been part of Emerging Ireland tours and been around senior training camps. Now, he is set for the next step.

Which Ireland players will step up for the summer squad while the Lions are away?
Which Ireland players will step up for the summer squad while the Lions are away?

Irish Times

time3 hours ago

  • Irish Times

Which Ireland players will step up for the summer squad while the Lions are away?

It may be URC semi-final week, but the rugby news cycle has been dominated by events away from Leinster. Connacht have pulled off a big-name managerial signing by securing the services of Stuart Lancaster, while Paul O'Connell has named his Ireland squad for the summer tour of Georgia and Portugal. With the Lions contingent away in Australia, this tour will be vital for plugging the gaps and filling areas of weakness as we start to inch towards another World Cup. Gerry Thornley joins Nathan Johns to discuss all this while looking at why Leinster's URC playoff run appears to be struggling to capture the public imagination. Produced by John Casey.

Stuart Lancaster says Connacht can be up to '40%' better
Stuart Lancaster says Connacht can be up to '40%' better

RTÉ News​

time4 hours ago

  • RTÉ News​

Stuart Lancaster says Connacht can be up to '40%' better

Stuart Lancaster feels Connacht have plenty of room for improvement and says the hurt of his Racing 92 experience will spur him on. The former Leinster coach was a surprise announcement as the Westerners new boss on Tuesday. He takes over from Pete Wilkins, who departed the head coach role in April. Connacht finished the BKT URC in 13th place and were knocked out of Europe in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals. Lancaster, who was head coach of England between 2011 and 2015, departed Leinster in 2023 to take charge of Top 14 team Racing 92. He left the Parisian club in February after a disappointing stint and is understood to have had plenty of interest from other countries, including Wales and Australia. The 55-year-old said: "When I look at the quality of the players, the age-profile of the squad, the quality of the young players who are available, and knowing what I know about how to try and develop that group I think it's a really exciting opportunity for us to kick on now. "You don't want to make predictions too early but if we can improve the areas that are obvious to me, we can do better than last season. "[We can] set ourselves the goal of qualifying for the play-offs, and Europe is a big one for me. "Having had the experience of Leinster, and I guess the disappointment of Racing, about how it turned out for me, there's a real desire in me to want to do well." At Leinster, Lancaster was regarded as most effective as an innovative, 'tracksuit' coach, and held in high esteem by the players who worked under him. He said that Connacht's recruitment from Harlequins of Billy Millard as their general manager of performance will give him the time and space to focus on game planning. "A big plus of Billy coming to Connacht for me is that it will mean a lot of the managerial part of the job, which I don't mind doing, and I ended up doing a lot of this in France, Billy and I can share, and Billy can take the lead on" he said. "So it was a big plus for me to know that Billy was coming in that general manager role. "With Willie [Ruane, chief executive] and Tim [Allnutt, head of rugby operations] and everyone else that's here I feel there's good support around me which means I can concentrate on the coaching." On the prospects for next season, he said: "In my presentation to the panel, I did an analysis of last season and the end result in terms of the league table was not where anyone wanted to be but actually statistically, in a lot of the metrics, Connacht were very good so credit to the foundations that [former coaches] Mark Sexton, Pete, Scott Fardy had put in. "Those guys did a great job and part of the attraction of coming was I felt the foundation is strong in terms of the quality of the squad. "There will be tweaks I'd be thinking about in how we approach training and certain games and how we play but overall I think there's a very good foundation." New Connacht head coach Stuart Lancaster says he is hopes "to make a difference" in his new role — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 4, 2025 Connacht fans will have a new stand at the Dexcom Stadium next season, as well as a new coaching ticket, which includes senior assistant Rob Seib. "Keep doing what you are doing, your support is amazing; I've never been here once and not felt the passion," was Lancaster's message to Connacht fans. "There's been tough times as well, but I think the stadium, the facilities, the new coaching team, the playing group is maybe similar but I'm confident we can get another 20, 30, 40% out of them so get behind the group. "If you can draw that [fan] energy together, it's an unbelievably hard place to come and win here, but then we need to be as good on the road as well. "That's the challenge but I'm excited and I hope supporters will be excited to see the team play."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store