Disrespect Munster?Prepare to pay

IT MUST have been a rather chastened English contingent that arrived for their first get together under Stuart Lancaster at West Park rugby club in Leeds on Monday morning in preparation for the Six Nations championship after a calamitous weekend for their clubs in the Heineken Cup.

England’s new caretaker coach has impressed everybody with his public utterances to date and his recognition of the need for the English squad to reconnect with its people after the World Cup in New Zealand. Lancaster could well be about to find out that coaching England is a great job, apart from the matches.

Of the seven teams representing the Aviva Premiership in this season’s tournament, Saracens are the sole representative in the last eight. Of the remaining six, only Harlequins finished with sufficient points to secure a consolation prize in the Amlin Challenge Cup as one of the three best runners up. The other two slots went to Scarlets and Biarritz Olympique.