'Stuart was always innovating. It's addictive to be in that environment'

WHETHER IT WAS the tennis ball machine he brought in, the leadership books he would suggest they read, or demanding that they lead analysis meetings, Stuart Lancaster always found new ways of challenging his Leinster players.
Now, Connacht's players will be tested by Lancaster's insatiable pursuit of improvement.
The Englishman spent seven years working as Leinster's senior coach, helping them to emerge from a worrying lull to claim a Champions Cup and Pro14 double in 2017/18, his second season with the province.
There were three other Champions Cup finals during his spell with Leinster, as well as three more Pro14 titles.
Those who worked with Lancaster during that time fondly remember the achievements, of course, but they also recall just how much he helped them to improve. Lancaster's influence on Leinster's squad not only improved the province's performances but also Ireland's.
'He was always innovating and trying to give us opportunities to get better,' says former Leinster and Ireland hooker James Tracy.
'Because he's so interested in personal growth and learning and learning from others, you can't not learn from him.
'It's very addictive to be in an environment like that.'
And it wasn't just the players. Lancaster had a broader influence on many coaches within the province. This is something he plans to do in Connacht too.
Lancaster during his first season with Leinster. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
St Michael's College, one of the key providers of players to Leinster, suffered an agonising defeat to Belvedere in the semi-finals of the 2018 Schools Senior Cup.
The school's coaches, Andy Skehan and Emmet MacMahon, were still reeling when they got a surprise call from Lancaster, who they hadn't yet met at that point.
'He got our numbers and asked to meet us,' says Skehan, director of rugby at St Michael's.
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'We went through the game and he said it reminded him of the England v Wales game he was involved in at the 2015 World Cup.
'The learning from that was monumental for us and the development for us as coaches was huge. We put that into practice and then it became a regular thing. At least once a season, if not twice a season, we'd meet him in Leinster or St Michael's and talk through new ideas he had. We've maintained contact even since he left Leinster.'
Skehan knows many other coaches who have had similar experiences with Lancaster, who also delivered lots of coaching seminars to bigger groups in UCD or Donnybrook. On occasion, Lancaster would bring in young players to ensure there was a practical element on the pitch.
When Covid struck, Lancaster took the seminars online and spread his enthusiasm for the game even wider.
'Not only are Connacht getting someone who I think will advance their cause massively at senior level, but he will have an influence across the province into their age-grade teams, pathway, even the community level,' says Skehan.
'One of Stuart's greatest strengths is that he's technically and tactically very astute, but he also has an unbelievable understanding of leadership, culture, and community.'
Leinster players who were interested in improving their leadership got used to Lancaster sending them videos, slideshows, and books on the topic. He would sit down with individuals to discuss their personal style of leading.
But as Connacht's squad will soon find out, Lancaster is not into leading players by the hand. Team meetings in a Lancaster set-up are not just one-way.
Lancaster during his last season with Leinster. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
'You have to come with an opinion,' says Tracy. 'He wants you to understand why you did things in training or a game, why things worked or went wrong. You're not just turning up to be spoon-fed.
'Instead of telling you, 'You did this wrong, do this instead,' he'll ask you, 'What were you thinking here?'
'It means you don't just have the cop out of, 'Sorry, I was wrong' or 'Sorry, I made a mistake' because that doesn't fix anything.
'If you can get to the root of that issue in a team meeting in front of everyone, it makes you vulnerable but it makes you think more about why you made decisions.'
Lancaster would task individual players with leading focused meetings. For example, young openside flanker Scott Penny would lead a breakdown preview ahead of the weekend's game.
Penny would go away and work with the Leinster analysts to compile footage of the opposition's strengths and weaknesses around the breakdown, then guide his own team-mates through it in a meeting.
The same happened with the scrum, the lineout, and other areas of the game. Lancaster and the other Leinster coaches obviously mixed in their views, but the Englishman wanted the players to know their stuff.
'So then when we were in pressure situations, we understood what to do because we were part of making that plan and understood how the opposition set up,' says Tracy.
There was a constant focus on technical improvement too.
'He felt our catch-pass skills needed to be the best in the world if we were going to be able to play a possession-based game,' says Tracy. 'We needed to get better under fatigue.'
So Lancaster would come into the gym with a bag of rugby balls while Leinster's players were lifting weights. In between sets, he'd start a countdown timer and get them to do handling drills under fatigue, challenging them not to drop a single ball in the two-minute blocks. Lancaster would make as much noise as possible to add more pressure.
Lancaster with Connacht captain Cian Prendergast and CEO Willie Ruane. Tom Maher / INPHO Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
He also brought in the tennis ball machine, which allowed players to work on their hand-eye coordination outside of the actual on-pitch sessions. The ball would come at high speed and players had to use 'soft hands' to catch it, releasing the tension from their hands so the ball didn't just bounce away.
He would send players clips of best practice from other sports. Many of Leinster's backs remember the footage Lancaster shared with them of Frank Lampard and other top footballers scanning the pitch when they weren't in possession. They were incessantly scanning all around them before receiving the ball to build a picture of the opportunities once they were in possession. Lancaster wanted them to do the same on the rugby pitch.
Lancaster, a former teacher, is the epitome of a coach with a growth mindset. Connacht's players will enjoy the challenges he poses them. He's a caring coach, but a demanding one too.
And his time in Leinster suggests that it won't only be the Connacht players who benefit from Lancaster's arrival.
Skehan cites Joe Schmidt as a strong influence on the grassroots game when he was in Leinster, but reckons no one has matched Lancaster in that regard.
'Stuart's influence was huge,' says Skehan.
'From a grassroots to a pathway level, I think Stuart is probably most influential at that level. There's obviously a good case for him also being the most influential at the senior professional level.
'So Connacht have got a professional senior coach, but they've also got an incredible influencer on the community and pathway and development game that feeds into that.'

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