Stuart Lancaster Has Been Handed A Shock New Role

Stuart Lancaster has resurfaced as a defence coach for NFL side the Atlanta Falcons.

Lancaster has been brought in by Falcons head coach Dan Quinn to teach his squad to tackle rugby union-style. The Falcons boss met me the former England head coach at a leadership conference in Los Angeles over the summer and asked if he could meet his players and transplant union technique.

“I talked to them about winning the last metre, winning the collision and finishing the tackle,” said Lancaster.

American Football has become more interested in rugby-style tackling since concerns surfaced over the number of concussions being sustained by players.

“In a rugby game, they are tackling constantly so we thought there was a lot to gain from Stuart,” said Quinn.

“He came in and we spent a good bit of time talking tackling, what drills to use and if there’s a crossover that we use from our game that he can use, and something from his game that we might be able to use. Any chance we can get that interaction, we are going to find it.”

Lancaster has also been involved in the independent review into the culture within British Cycling’s world-class performance programme and is assisting the FA with ideas from English rugby’s successful youth development structure.

However he could be set to make his return to his own sport in the near future having been linked with the Queensland Reds Super Rugby job.