Lancaster gets the England job

Stuart Lancaster has been appointed head coach of England by the Rugby Football Union following his impressive work as interim boss during the Six Nations.

Lancaster's appointment is to be announced in a formal statement at 12.15pm local time later Thursday after the 42-year-old saw off stiff competition from former South Africa and Italy coach Nick Mallett.

News of the appointment follows England's impressive performances in the Six Nations, which saw them finish runners-up to Grand Slam winners Wales after winnning four out of five matches.

Lancaster had taken over the job on an interim basis in December following England's disastrous World Cup campaign which led to the resignation of 2003 World Cup-winner Martin Johnson.

The former Leeds coach was given the task of rebuilding public support for the England side after inquests into the World Cup campaign revealed a divided dressing room split by conflicting agendas.

Lancaster, who had previously been in charge of England's Saxons development squad, immediately freshened up the senior team, promoting the likes of flyhalf Owen Farrell, Saracens centre Brad Barritt and number eight Ben Morgan while handing the captaincy to Harlequins flank Chris Robshaw.

He also made attempts to bring English rugby closer to its supporters, opting for a pre-tournament training camp in Leeds rather than Portugal.

Lancaster also made discipline a central theme of his regime, omitting Danny Care from his squad after he was arrested for drink-driving.

While England were unconvincing in victories over Scotland and Italy during the Six Nations, they won plaudits for running eventual champions Wales close before stunning France in Paris and destroying Ireland 30-9 at Twickenham.

Nevertheless, the RFU insisted they would not be rushed into promoting Lancaster to the job full-time and interviewed Mallett for the head coach position following the Six Nations.

However Lancaster won the race for the top job after winning approval from new RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie who was guided by an advisory panel comprising Conor O'Shea, Ian McGeechan, and former England internationals Rob Andrew and Richard Hill.

News of Lancaster's appointment was welcomed by members of his squad, with prop Alex Corbisiero saying simply on Twitter: "Right decision has been made."

AFP