Stuart Lancaster has revealed he has not given any thought to the prospect of replacing Eddie Jones for a second spell as the England coach.
Lancaster’s contract with Leinster runs out at the end of the season and, while he confirmed the province has opened talks over an extension, a place on Andy Farrell’s coaching ticket with Ireland has also been mooted.
A return to Twickenham has not crossed his mind after the RFU’s interim chief executive, Nigel Melville, last week said Lancaster would not be ruled out of consideration as he leads the search for Jones’s successor, despite the messy end to the Leinster coach’s England tenure.
Lancaster, who was also over the weekend linked with a move to Bath next summer, has resurrected his career with Leinster after he was sacked by the Rugby Football Union in late 2015 after a disastrous World Cup. Melville also said he would prefer an Englishman for the role but did reveal he would be contacting Warren Gatland in the new year.
“I think they suggested every coach in world rugby is of interest. I don’t think it’s narrowed down to me,” Lancaster told the Irish Independent. “I think that was the way it was described but I think Nigel Melville said they’d be happy to talk to any coach and I’d fall into that category. It’s a hypothetical situation because it’s never been suggested. I’ve never spoken to Nigel Melville or the RFU, so I don’t even exercise my mind thinking about it.”
Farrell, who was Lancaster’s defence coach for England, will take over as Ireland’s coach when Joe Schmidt leaves after next year’s World Cup. Lancaster said: “I’m certainly happy with Leinster but we’ll see how it all plays out. I enjoy club coaching, the day-to-day stuff. For me it is all about the role I would do that would give me the best opportunity to keep developing as a leader. It’s up to Andy to formulate his plans but one thing is for certain he will always get my 110% support.”
Leinster have responded to Bath’s controversial decision to ban their supporters’ flags during Saturday’s European Champions Cup match at the Rec by insisting they are perfectly safe.
Shortly before kick-off on Saturday it emerged Bath had refused to allow Leinster to distribute approximately 1,500 flags to their fans, claiming they had failed three health and safety checks, including fire. Compounding the situation, Bath distributed several thousand of their own flags to their supporters before the match but some Leinster fans still managed to sneak a few of their own into the ground, defiantly waving them during their side’s 17-10 victory.
“While Leinster respect the decision made by Bath and their officials, we are keen to avoid a repeat ever happening again and in this regard we are happy to confirm that the flags distributed centrally by Leinster are covered by a safety certificate and that the same batch of flags are still in use,” read a Leinster statement.
“We have also consulted with our flag providers, Scimitar Sports, and also with our own health & safety officers who are both happy to discuss any issues with Bath direct to allay their fears. We are also reassured by the certificate in place for these products and are confident that our supporters and indeed other clubs going forward have nothing to fear.”
Mako Vunipola believes he has a fight on his hands to regain his England place after the emergence of Ben Moon during the autumn. Vunipola, who made his Saracens return on Sunday after eight weeks out with a calf injury, said: “Ben came in and pushed really hard so I’ve got a job to do playing well for Sarries and hopefully put my hand up for selection again.”
The Premiership clubs are expected to agree to sell a minority stake of around 30% to CVC Capital Partners when they put the £240m bid to a vote at Tuesday’s board meeting.