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The 'profound' Leinster verdict on the departing Stuart Lancaster
By PA
Jamison Gibson-Park says Stuart Lancaster will be dearly missed as Leinster bid to give the former England head coach a fitting send-off by clinching European glory. Lancaster, who has served as a senior coach under Leo Cullen since 2016, will leave the Irish province at the end of the season to become director of rugby at French club Racing 92.
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Leinster’s final shot at lifting silverware before the 53-year-old heads to Paris comes on Saturday evening when they take on La Rochelle in the final of the Heineken Champions Cup in Dublin.
“He has had a profound effect on my career – and I’m probably not alone in saying that – with regards to what he has done here at Leinster,” scrum-half Gibson-Park said of Lancaster, who will be replaced by South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber.
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“It’s been incredible really. The turnaround from the start, the consistency throughout, his mindset have just been awesome. For me, it personally changed a lot of things in my outlook on rugby.
“That is across the board with the rest of the team as well. He has had a pretty massive impact on me and we will miss him dearly. Hopefully, he goes well over in Racing.”
Leinster have a chance for redemption against La Rochelle 12 months on from a painful last-gasp 24-21 loss to the French side in the 2022 final in Marseille. Having suffered a semi-final exit to rivals Munster in the URC last weekend, Cullen’s men will attempt to end the campaign on a high at the Aviva Stadium ahead of a handful of notable departures.
In addition to the imminent exit of Lancaster, who contributed to Champions Cup success in 2018 and four URC titles, long-serving wing Dave Kearney and injured captain Johnny Sexton are heading towards retirement.
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Asked if giving Englishman Lancaster a trophy to leave with was an extra incentive, Gibson-Park said: “I don’t think he would expect us to think of it that way but obviously Stu is moving on and a few other guys are finishing up as well.
“It’s obviously an incentive but there is a performance you have to get right before you start worrying about that stuff. We will be focused on that but sure there are some guys that deserve a pretty good send-off.”
Leinster are hoping to equal Toulouse’s record of five Champions Cup titles by exacting revenge on Ronan O’Gara’s side. Ireland international Gibson-Park has returned to the starting XV alongside a host of other star names after head coach Cullen opted to rest them for last weekend’s surprise 16-15 defeat by Munster.
“It’s finals rugby and it’s win or die,” he said. “Small margins. We will just be chasing a performance and that is the most important thing for us, to try and get that right. Obviously, it’s very tough with a team as good as they are so it is going to be challenging but we are looking forward to it.”
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Asked if Leinster will alter their style due to the formidable size of the opposition’s pack, he added: “We won’t be changing things drastically, I don’t think. But you have got to be smart around how you attack them so we will see how we go.”
