Stuart Lancaster remained defiant after England finished off their calamitous World Cup campaign with the expected rout of a brave but overpowered Uruguay 60-3.
“I feel I’ve worked hard and tried to do the right thing,” he said of his tenure, which may be brought to an end during the next week or two. “I’ve tried to make the right decisions on what I believe rugby’s founded on. Core values are important. People might call that old‑fashioned, but I think it’s true.”
He also defended the record of the team he has built, while ruing the lack of mental hardness that might have seen them prevail under such intense scrutiny. “We tried to play good, exciting rugby. We’ve shown that in this Six Nations, scoring 18 tries, and scoring 14 in the one before that. But we’ve not nailed every big moment in every big game, and that’s come to hurt us, last season and in this World Cup. But I don’t think that detracts from the potential of the team.”
He has not had a chance to consider his future but ominously hinted that he would have a better idea about it at the end of next week, once he has retreated to his native Cumbria to walk with Wordsworth, while the review into his performance is conducted within the corridors of Twickenham. “Anyone who has worked since December 2011 to this point would find it hard to walk away. But equally I understand it’s a results business. What I’ve tried to do is make sure the culture and character of the team remains up during week. Perhaps other teams under this sort of scrutiny might have cracked. I don’t think we did.”
Meanwhile, his players can enjoy the therapy of an immediate return to action. “It’s slightly different for coaches,” he said with a rueful smile. “You’ve got to wait. A long time potentially.”
