International lure still there but all about Connacht now for Lancaster  

Lancaster’s maiden season in charge of Connacht at the redeveloped Dexcom Stadium begins this Saturday at home to Benetton

Connacht head coach Stuart Lancaster signs a supporter's jersey after a Connacht Rugby open training session at Dexcom Stadium in Galway. Photo by Thomas Flinkow/Sportsfile

New Connacht head coach Stuart Lancaster has not ruled out a return to Test rugby, as Andy Farrell’s successor in the Ireland hotseat.

The former England boss, who spent seven seasons at Leinster as senior coach from 2016, arrived in Galway as head coach after an ill-fated stint in charge at Parisian giants Racing 92. Since leaving the French Top 14 club last February he had been linked with a number of high-profile vacancies, including the top jobs with Australia and Wales as well as Leicester Tigers before eventually accepting Connacht’s offer of a return to Ireland.

Lancaster’s maiden season in charge at the redeveloped Dexcom Stadium in Galway City begins this Saturday at home to Benetton but the new boss on Monday faced questions about his appetite for Test coaching.

Andy Farrell is contracted to lead Ireland until the end of the 2027 World Cup and has given no indication of his plans beyond that date, while Lancaster could possibly in contention with current Irish assistants Paul O’Connell and Simon Easterby, as well as La Rochelle boss Ronan O’Gara while Munster’s new head coach Clayton McMillan could well emerge as a candidate if his first two seasons at Thomond Park prove to be a success, if there a vacancy with the IRFU does become available.

Lancaster himself questioned that possibility at Dexcom Stadium on Monday when he joked: “I didn’t realise Andy was leaving.” 

Yet he did not rule out the possibility.

“It’s not something I’ve remotely discussed with him or even thought about, to be honest.

“When we discussed the length of the contract, in my mind I’d signed for four years with Racing and it finished after nearly two.

“So, it takes me to that point.

“We’ll see. People often ask me about international rugby and club rugby, international rugby is amazing. The highs are really high, you’re away… watching the Lions series, thinking ‘I’d love to be involved in that, coaching’ and same with international rugby.

“Then you have big, long gaps in it as well. I love the coaching piece as well and I’m happy coaching in the club environment for the time being.

“I’ll be 57 in two years’ time, there’s plenty more in me.” 

For now, however, Lancaster said he was relishing the opportunity to unlock the huge potential he sees in the squad he has inherited at Connacht, one which underperformed last season under previous incumbent Pete Wilkins and finished 13th in the United Rugby Championship under interim head coach Cullie Tucker. 

The new permanent head coach even drew comparisons with the Leinster squad he first encountered when brought onto Leo Cullen’s staff at Leinster nine years ago having left the England job following the 2015 World Cup.

"The (pre-season) games have gone well, obviously Bristol weren't at full strength but we still put 50 points on them and 40 points on Sale,” Lancaster said. “That's what I would have asked for, but it's pre-season so the true test comes this Saturday but also for the next five weeks.

"I always believed coming in that the foundations were strong and felt that Connacht had a high ceiling.

"Last year I think they were frustrated that they didn't achieve more, it you look at the metrics of line breaks, defenders beaten, attack was a really strong part of Connacht's game.

"The bit I felt needed to balance out was the defence but also our game management. It's all well having a great attacking mindset but if you come 13th that's not the outcome we all want.

"So there's been tweaks made to the foundations of the game but within that it's strong and the squad benefited from the three British and Irish Lions and the six lads going on the Ireland tour.

"It feels very similar to that start when I went to Leinster in September 2016 after Connacht beat Leinster in the final, we made some tweaks to how we train and brought Stuesdays in, some experiences of being at Leinster, coaching England and probably as relevant was being in France as well.

"You can feel the energy, it's a good group and my intention is to rotate the team during the first five games to give us a chance to see everyone but also we've got to win games as well.”