Spearheading England into a home Rugby World Cup in 2015, Stuart Lancaster had an enormous task on his hands.
Unfortunately, England was eliminated at the pool stage, after defeats by Wales and Australia; this was the first time in the tournament’s history that a solo host nation failed to progress to the knockout stages.
Three of his first call-ups ended up playing at that World Cup while the other two only enjoyed short stints in the England shirt.
Have a look at the first 5 Lancaster debutants after he took over in March 2012…
1. Tom Johnson
The flanker was one of three debutants selected by Lancaster for his first Test match, which came on a summer tour against South Africa in 2012.
Johnson, who became the first Exeter player to play for England since Martin Underwood in 1964, played all three tests of the tour but would go onto only win eight caps in total.
It all started all too well, but it didn’t last