Irish win swung it for Lancaster

Stuart Lancaster was appointed England head coach after the crowd rose to acclaim him and his team for their Six Nations win over Ireland, RFU Chief Executive Ian Ritchie has confirmed.

Lancaster yesterday signed a deal until January 2016 after an impressive spell as caretaker coach, which culminated in a comprehensive 30-9 victory over Declan Kidney’s side at Twickenham.

That win was followed by vocal support from the crowd towards Lancaster, and Ritchie admitted he could not ignore the fact the 42-year-old had restored public faith in the team after a disastrous World Cup in New Zealand, which was marred by off-field issues and poor performances.

“Anyone who was at the last game at Twickenham would have noticed that connection [between the team and their supporters],” said Ritchie.

And Ritchie denied that appointing Lancaster ahead of former South Africa coach Nick Mallet was a gamble.

“I don’s see it [appointing Lancaster] as a gamble,” said Ritchie. “Stuart was given this job on merit against very strong competition.”

And Lancaster, who coached his U11 side 24 hours after learning he would be appointed England boss, has set his sights on winning the World Cup in 2015, which England are hosting.

“I was sat at West Park in Leeds having finished with the U11’s and we were talking about the tour — not the South Africa tour, the Scarborough tour.

“I was sat there planning that and I thought ‘what would I want to see if I was a mini-team rugby coach or a spectator?’ and there are three things I’d like to bring to the [England] team.

“The first is pride, in wearing the shirt and the connection with people. The second is the vision for the future, and that is to win the World Cup in 2015. The third is for the players to play without fear, that when they come to play for England they can seize their opportunities and play without fear.”

Meanwhile, the Heineken European Cup continues to be a bonanza for rugby with revenues distributed by the company that operates the competition to rugby unions and clubs involved rising by 33% to €43.79m last year.

The €11m jump from €32.7m received by the Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy rugby unions coincided with Leinster securing its second European title last year.

Dublin-registered European Rugby Cup Ltd filed results to the Companies Office showing that revenues increased by 29.7% from €38.79m to €50.3m in the 12 months to the end of June last.

The returns show, after donations, the company made a profit of €100,000 and this followed a profit of €100,000 the previous year. However, the accounts do not provide a breakdown of the donations distributed to the unions and clubs.

The increase in the company’s business also resulted in their cash balance increasing significantly last year, with its cash increasing four fold from €1.5m to €7.1m. The firm’s accumulated profits last year totalled €2.2m.

The figures show that after the firm’s €50.3m in administrative expenses, the company recorded an operating profit of €23,227 and this followed an operating profit of €31,493 in 2010.

Interest receivable last year of €76,773 resulted in the company recording the €100,000 profit. The profit took account of €114,646 in non-cash depreciation while it also spent €101,500 on the operating lease for a building.

The company has 13 directors, including Philip Browne, chief executive of the IRFU. The other Irish director is Peter Boyle. The figures show that at the end of June last, the company owed €4.7m to unions and club representative bodies.