Stuart Lancaster is not ruling out a reunion with Andy Farrell in the new Ireland coaching set-up that will be put in place after the Rugby World Cup.
“It’s up to Andy to build his coaching team,” he said. “The reality is he needs his coaching team to be ready by January 2020.
“I’ve not caught up with him actually since the announcement, I will do soon I’m sure and it will be up to him to shape that. I’ll have that conversation with him.
“He’s the right man for the job in my opinion, I think that when Joe announced he was going there was only one person I felt was qualified to do the job and that was Andy.
“He’s sat as an assistant coach for eight years now, four with me and four with Joe.
“And when you’re sat in that assistant coaching role you can learn a lot about what you would do when you get your chance and Andy has got the opportunity now over the next six to nine months to put that into place.
“I think of my appointment as England head coach, I got it in in December and my first game was in January. Andy’s got a year to decide what he wants to do, so I don’t think he’ll be in a hurry.”
MORE STORIES:
-
Eight Great Rugby Terms That Sound Extremely Filthy
-
Five great players who never beat the All Blacks
Asked if Lancaster would work with Farrell again if he got the call, the former said: “It’s another hypothetical.
“I enjoy club coaching, the day to day stuff. For me it is all about the role that I would do that would give me the best opportunity to keep developing as a leader.
“But it’s up to Andy to formulate his plans, but one thing is for certain he will always get my 110 per cent support.”