On this day in 2012: Stuart Lancaster appointed England head coach

Stuart Lancaster permanently succeeded Martin Johnson as England head coach on this day a decade ago.

Lancaster had been in interim charge after former England captain Johnson resigned in the wake of the team’s failure at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.

It was a big step up for the former Leeds Tykes player and ex-school teacher, who had previously been employed in a dual role as the coach of England Saxons and the RFU’s head of player development.

Then aged 42, he was promoted to the full-time job on a contract until the end of the 2015 World Cup, having guided England to a second-placed finish in the 2012 Six Nations, behind Wales.

“Being head coach of your national team in any sport (is an honour), but to do it at a time when we’ve got a World Cup in our own country is a huge, huge honour,” Lancaster said at the time.

“It’s been everything that I’ve worked towards, going through all the coaching qualifications. For me to get to the pinnacle it’s an unbelievable honour.”

Lancaster resigned in November 2015 after a dismal home World Cup.

His side became the first English team – and the first former world champions – to be knocked out in the group stage of the competition following Twickenham defeats to Wales and eventual runners-up Australia.

Since September 2016, Lancaster has worked as a senior coach for Irish province Leinster.

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