Stuart Lancaster: No 'magic wand' when it comes to the Connacht project

Bundee Aki, second from left, and Connacht teammates. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Connacht’s 34-point defeat to Leinster in Dublin has left head coach Stuart Lancaster more determined than ever to make a success of his stint out west.

The former Leinster senior coach saw his new side concede eight tries in a game where they were under the pump for most of it but managed to put together a positive two-try half-hour in the first period.

“When they're in the flow and you play at the Aviva ,or even at the RDS as well, they're a hard team to stop.

“When I went to sleep last night I was hoping we'd play like we did for that 30-minute period for the 80 minutes but we didn't and I'm fully committed to what I'm doing at Connacht. I know it's a different project, it's a completely different project.

“Connacht should be applauded for what they've done off the field in terms of building a new High Performance Centre, building a new stand, and when I'm coaching the young lads at Connacht they're not at the same level as the development of these Leinster lads like Charlie Tector, Hugh Cooney...

“They were training with the senior squad three years ago when I was there. So they've had three more years of experience whereas I'm four months in, five months in, coaching Billy Bohan or Fiachna Barrett or Harry West or all these lads.

“I'll do everything I can to pass on what I've learned from my Leinster period. It was painful today but I still love the place, I still love the people, but I'll be even more determined to try and get it right for the home game for sure.” 

Lancaster spoke of players like Bohan and Barrett and Harry West, young players who are still new to the demands of games against teams like Leinster. 

“I’m throwing them in at the deep end,” the Englishman explained after the 52-17 loss at the Aviva Stadium.

Connacht now play two Challenge Cup games before resuming their bid to secure a crucial top eight place in the URC with the visit of Leinster to Galway for the official opening of the new stand at the Dexcom Stadium.

Other pivotal games follow against Zebre, Glasgow and Scarlets.

Connacht have now lost seven of their ten games this season but Lancaster says he has detected no sign of dented confidence or belief and that his project out west is still in its infancy after his arrival last summer.

“You can't wave a magic wand and take a team from here to here,” he said raising his hand in demonstration, “without the correct fundamentals within training and, if I go back to my time at Leinster, that's what we did.

“We worked hard and we made mistakes and we trained under pressure... So that's what I'll do. I'll just double down on training with intensity under pressure and making sure the skill set holds under pressure."