Stuart Lancaster: Connacht must put trust in young players

Lancaster said the "real aim" for Connacht is finishing in the top eight of the URC

Connacht head coach Stuart Lancaster's mind was focused on young players like Fiachra Barrett and Billy Bohan (pictured) after the defeat to Leinster on Saturday. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie

Stuart Lancaster says Connacht need to ape the Leinster model of blooding more local talent, and that the policy will involve a smaller squad with a focus on the quality rather than the quantity of others brought in from afar.

The Westerners conceded eight tries to Lancaster’s former employers at the Aviva Stadium in Saturday’s URC interpro with a side that was devoid of a number of key players. It was their sixth league loss of the campaign.

The likes of Jack Aungier, Dave Heffernan, Sean Naughton and Caolin Blade are closing in returns to action as they turn into two weeks of Challenge Cup action, but the coach’s mind was focused after this game on the likes of Fiachra Barrett and Billy Bohan.

Just 20 and 21 respectively, it is this generation of players which Lancaster believes holds the key to the province making inroads, and he knows well the value of blooding players of that ilk from his time in Dublin.

Leinster had experienced historic lows in Europe the season before he arrived in 2016, but with shoots of promise already appearing via the emergence of green kids like Garry Ringrose, Josh van der Flier, Tadhg Furlong and Luke McGrath.

“For me, Connacht have got a great group of young players coming through and we have to have the confidence to give them opportunities to play. If we don’t then we’re storing trouble for further down the line.

“I see my challenge as to win here and now but at the same time put strong foundations in place with the way we train, with the young players, but recognising as well that we need a strong senior group to see them through.

“That’s what Leinster do really well: they bring lads in from the bottom end as lads drop out of the top end. If you look at the cycle of where our squad is, that is an example of what will happen at the end of this season because we need to bring young players through.

“We ideally need to bring more quality in and in some ways reduce the size of the squad at the moment and actually trust young players more. That’s the goal because I’ve come from Leinster and I know it’s a model that works and so you have to put them in at some point.”

Connacht now face Montpellier away and Montauban at home this next two weeks and, while their head man would like to have an interest in Europe come the knockouts, the focus remains firmly on the URC.

“The real aim is to finish top eight [in the URC]. You see the league now and there is definitely a split, isn’t there? There is a top six and then there is going to be a hell of a scrap for seven and eight and we want to be in that scrap.” 

Their next league game is Leinster at home later this month when the new Dexcom Stadium will be officially opened, and the hope is that such an auspicious occasion and day can feed into the rest of the campaign to come.

“Playing at home has been hard for 18 months in what feels like an empty stadium, a half-full stadium, so to have the stand open for the Leinster game is huge, and then to maintain that momentum for future home games will be massive second-half of the season.”