Parting message from ex-England boss to the now-retired Wallabies forward Fardy

Leinster senior coach Stuart Lancaster has paid tribute to the now-retired Scott Fardy, describing him as “Isa Nacewa Mark 2”. The Australian started at blindside against the Dragons at the RDS last Friday in the final round of the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup in front of 1,200 supporters. 

The match brought to an end Fardy’s four-year stint with the Irish province where he won four consecutive PRO14 titles and one Heineken Champions Cup. It also signalled the end of the soon-to-be 37-year-old's considerable career in which he played 37 times for Australia.  

Fardy made the move to Leinster from the Brumbies in 2017 having featured at the 2015 World Cup in a back row combination with Michael Hooper and David Pocock that was integral to the Wallabies reaching the final. 

Lancaster has now praised the impact that the seasoned ex-Wallabies forward had on the team since his arrival, comparing him to Leinster great Nacewa, the one-cap Fiji international from New Zealand who won four European titles during two stints in Ireland.

“My experience of Scott before I coached him was playing against Australia when I was coaching England,” said Lancaster. “His versatility, his ability to play second row and back row, his experience, the energy that he brings to the group and how he makes people feel is probably one of his points of difference. 

"Obviously, he is a very good rugby player, hugely experienced, but he is so humble and so grounded in his personality. He has fitted straight into the Leinster set-up, probably more easily than anyone would have imagined. He has not just fitted in, he has added value. When we play those games in the Six Nations, when all the internationals are away, it is Scott Fardy who is leading the team. 

"It is Scott Fardy who is driving the energy in training. It is Scott Fardy who is talking in meetings. He is the Isa Nacewa Mark 2. He is the forward’s version of Isa Nacewa, which I think is the biggest compliment anyone could have from a Leinster coach.”