England’s surprise 24-22 Six Nations victory over France at the Stade France on Sunday was down to the players and not the coach, said a modest Stuart Lancaster.
The 42-year-old stand-in coach had just seen his inexperienced side become the first England team since 2008 to beat the French in a Six Nations match at the Stade de France.
However, Lancaster preferred to praise his players rather than what it might mean for his prospects of landing the coaching job full-time.
“It’s not about me, it’s about the team,” said Lancaster, whose side have won three out of their four matches and stand an outside chance of the title if they beat Ireland next weekend and France down unbeaten Wales.
“We lacked experience in terms of caps but we had great self-belief and that was clear from how we played out there.
“It reflected what we are building towards. We are learning things from match to match but we are learning fast.”
Lancaster, who replaced Martin Johnson following the World Cup where the side was plagued by problems on and off the pitch and ended in a quarter-final defeat by France, said the team had shown great character in becoming the first English side in Six Nations history to win all three away games.
“In terms of performance I am delighted,” he said.
“To come here and win which has been rare in recent years for any side epitomises the character of the team. I give credit to France for not lowering the flag when Tom Croft scored the third try and they came back at us.”
One of his assistants, Andy Farrell, was unequivocal about what the victory should mean for both the future of English rugby and that of Lancaster.
“I think the win today (Sunday) is there for all to see what has been achieved,” said Farrell, whose son Owen scored nine points with the boot.
“The biggest achievement is that it has put pride back in the jersey and you feel that round the country.
“It gives us a lot of belief. To get this team together like he (Lancaster) has done speaks volumes.
France coach Philippe Saint-Andre was left hugely disappointed by the defeat as his players failed for the first time in their last three games to come back from a sizeable deficit to force a result.
“It is a bitter feeling especially so as it is my first one and it comes at home in front of our home crowd,” said the 44-year-old, who replaced Marc Lievremont after the World Cup final.
“I have to congratulate the English for scoring three tries and in modern rugby if you concede three it is very hard to win a game.
“I compliment my players on their stoicism in fighting back again but we lacked a clinical approach and we were caught napping twice by counter-attacks which we must learn to adapt to in terms of when attack turns into having to defend.”
Saint-Andre, who said that wing Vincent Clerc would not be fit for the final match against Wales because of a shoulder injury that forced him off in the first-half, took some of the responsibility.
“Pushing Ben Foden (the second try scorer) to be a fullback and not a scrum-half is perhaps the dumbest thing I have ever done as a coach,” said the Frenchman, who coached Foden at English side Sale.
Ben S
Roar Guru
Based on the 3N that is currently taking place in secret at the same time as the 6N, or based on what Australia and SA offered during the WC?
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Servat (like Bonnaire and Nallet) had decided to retire from international rugby after this year's 6 nations, hence the decision to give more game time to Swarzewski.
chief
Guest
Well their selections didn't help. Parra & Trinh-Duc should have started at 9-10. And why wasn't Servat in the run on side.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
This match was the dregs in terms of the quality of rugby on offer: primitive stylistically from both teams, one-dimensional, uncreative, dead. Sad to see two countries with many good players squandering their talent. Saint-Andre looks awful: both he and Lancaster should go and be replaced by elite, top level, world class coaches so England/France can be the outstanding spectacle it should.
Rugby Fan
Roar Guru
France have been nowhere near the team they were in the World Cup final. Nevertheless, better handling might have seen them cause more problems. They still managed to make some decent breaks which would have brought tries if England hadn't swarmed back to cover. That's been an encouraging feature of England's pay so far. Their defence hasn't always looked fabulously organized but the players have compensated through sheer effort and have proved difficult to score against. It was also a joy to see Tom Croft score his try. It's the first time the flanker has played for England as he managed on the Lions tour back in 2009. The papers are in a tizz over Lancaster's future. Some journos are openly calling for him to be retained while others appear to think it would be madness to do so when there's a candidate like Mallett around. Jeremy Guscott has written that the South African is probably a done deal because the RFU is inclined to go for a known coach after the Johnson experience. I don't know enough about Lancaster. It's clear the players like him but it's rarely a good idea to choose a coach for that reason. We need some decent tactical nous in the coaching team to anticipate trends in the game and also to create a few ourselves. It doesn't have to be Lancaster but someone in there needs to be a thinker. Another question for Lancaster is how ruthless he can be in dropping players he has previously favoured if they fall off the pace or if others come into the frame. For instance, will Robshaw deserve his place if Tom Wood gets back top top form after injury? A lot of this environment has been created by the media overreacting to England's World Cup performance and there's a risk they are doing the same the other way now. I thought we played badly in that tournament but didn't think we were a bad team. To read the reports now, you'd think England have come back from the dead when, in truth, we hadn't lost too many matches in Johnson's last days. We had come up short in games that counted - the Grand Slam match against Ireland and that Cup quarter final - but were no pushovers. Players were certainly demoralized after the Cup, because of the kicking the press gave them, but I never thought England should be wooden spoon contenders as ex-players like Austin Healey feared. We've outperformed very low expectations and now have the feelgood factor which inevitably follows. However, it's worth wondering why expectations were so low. After all, this weekend's win will apparently take us to 4th in the IRB rankings. When expectations normalize once again, you have to wonder how supportive the press will be over the years running up to the next Cup.
King of the Gorgonites
Roar Guru
Well done to the English. Corgeous effort. all guts. 3 tries to 1. and france's try came with 4 mins to go. a deserved victory. The European pecking order is now looking like this; Wales England France Ireland Way back is Scotland and Italy. One would have to say that the 3 tri-nations are well head of the best europe is serving up at present. but i have enjoyed wales, and the re-building of england has been impressive. watch out for england in 12 months time.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
The score is even flattering to the French. They played a very unimaginative rugby and got caught. They are becoming too obsessed with rehearsed moves and dunno what to do when they get the ball unexpectedly: PSA should let his backs run loose. Fofana, Mermoz etc have legs and talent but they look afraid to try things. And Dupuy + Beauxis aren't the most creative 9-10 combination around, we knew that. The young English did well and they are proving it was a good idea to change coach and bring some young blood in the team after the RWC. Like the Welsh did a few years ago. For the record, it's the first time in the Six nations history that a team, England, wins their 3 away games.