Stuart Lancaster: Leaving Leinster for Racing 92 was a tough decision but the time is right

It was the early hours of Monday morning when Stuart Lancaster found himself trudging through the arrivals hall at Dublin Airport once again.

Another delayed flight, another late finish followed by an early start, but these are small sacrifices as far as the Englishman is concerned.

"I was thinking to myself, 'I must have done this 140, 150 times a year for six years'," he said.

"Never once was I resentful about getting on a plane or standing there thinking, 'why am I doing this?', because I was just bouncing in there ready to go again."

After six successful years with Leinster, Lancaster is moving onto pastures new at the end of the season, taking over as director of rugby at Parisian powerhouse Racing 92 on a four-year contract.

During his time with the province he has watched players develop from young academy prospects into Ireland internationals, and that helped convince him the time was right to take on a fresh challenge.

"I'm sure there's going to be a massive effort this year to finish on a high."@CoghlanFiona and @bernardjackman reflect on Stuart Lancaster's decision to leave Leinster for Racing 92. #RTERugby #AgainstTheHead pic.twitter.com/HuxzAEu43i

"It was very difficult to tell the players," said Lancaster. "They obviously mean so much to me, as does Leinster. To actually say that I'm going to leave at the end of the season, it was tough.

"I thought about it for a long time and I think the time is right. The players are in a good place. The time we've spent together over the last six years, they've evolved from young men into fully-fledged internationals. I'm confident Leinster are in a strong place moving forward.

"That said, I still want to finish well this season.

"It's quite unique for a decision to be made this