England coach puts the focus on youth

The former Leeds player shouted from the sidelines yesterday as he watched the West Park Leeds Under-11s in action at the York juniors and mini rugby festival.

Around 2,000 youngsters from teams across the UK and Ireland played at the Clifton Park event, which is held each year to raise funds for the York Rugby Union Football Club.

Lancaster proved to be a motivational figure to the players as they battled it out in matches ranging from Under-7s to Under-12s as their sporting idol looked on.

Describing his promotion from an interim capacity to the full-time position as an “honour and a privilege”, the new head coach has set his sights on building a team capable of winning the World Cup in 2015.

The 42-year-old exceeded expectations during his caretaker tenure, transforming public perceptions about the England team that had been so badly damaged during a torrid World Cup campaign last autumn.

He then built on those foundations by steering England to four wins from five in the Six Nations, underpinning his belief that present accomplishments outweigh past achievements.

Now he has landed the job on a permanent basis the focus shifts to the next gatepost on the road to the World Cup, a three-Test tour to South Africa in June.

“As a guy who came through a teacher education college like Carnegie, through 10 years of teaching, through two years as a director of rugby, through three-and-a-half years with the England A team, learning from as many coaches as I could, it’s what you strive to achieve,” he told the Yorkshire Post after signing a four-year contract on Thursday. “For me to get to the pinnacle is unbelievable.”