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Get to know the coaches for the Six Nations teams...
by maestegmafia Sun 05 Feb 2012, 12:03
Great piece from the Telegraph...
Stuart Lancaster
England
Age: 42
Experience: First appointment as national coach
What is your earliest Championship memory?
I was 10 when St Bees School took a party up to Edinburgh to watch Scotland v France and we stood in the pouring rain in the schoolboy enclosure at the old Murrayfield. I was just gobsmacked watching the great Jean-Pierre Rives and from that day I never wanted to play anywhere other than flanker. So dynamic and so exciting. Jean-Claude Skrela was pretty useful as well!
Favourite Championship memory?
As an England fan I have never been more proud and more excited than watching that outstanding team of 2003 clinch the Grand Slam with a 42-6 win against Ireland at Lansdowne Road. That was a mighty performance under massive pressure, away from home and against classy opponents. A champagne day for English rugby.
What changes would you make to the Six Nations?
I will tell you at the end of it, this is my first time! From the outside looking in over the years it has seemed nigh-on perfect. The Six Nations is about people and fans as well as players and teams and everything slots together wonderfully well.
Lesson from the World Cup?
We must have a proper sense of ’togetherness’ We must have a strong England rugby culture that will operate in the good times and the bad. No international teams go unbeaten and you must not lose faith and confidence when you hit a sticky patch.
-----------------------------------------------
Philippe Saint-Andre
France
Age: 44
Experience: First appointment as national coach
What is your earliest Championship memory?
Sitting in front of the TV with my parents watching France win the 1977 Grand Slam with the same 15 players. That pack! Just look at that front row – Robert Paparemborde, Alain Paco and Gérard Cholley. Then you had Jean-Francois Imbernon and Michel Palmié in the second row and then Jean-Pierre Rives, Jean-Claude Skrela and Jean-Pierre Bastiat in the back row. They scared me and I am French.
Favourite Championship memory?
People always assume it must be the famous team try against England at Twickenham in 1991, but my favourite moment was my first game as France captain against Scotland in 1994 with France going on to win 20-12, our first win there for 16 years. I was a very happy France captain drinking whisky that night in Edinburgh.
What changes would you make to the Six Nations?
Not the format really, but France must fall into line with the British and Irish sides and have the two-week preparation camp before the tournament. We still have a full T14 club league programme the week before the Six Nations and it is a big worry for me and my coaching staff.
Lesson from the World Cup?
We have now played three World Cup finals and lost all three. So the message is simple: we must be more clinical in winning the very biggest games.
-----------------------------------------------
Declan Kidney
Ireland
Age: 52
Experience: Ireland assistant coach 2002-2004. Ireland coach since 2009
What is your earliest Championship memory?
It makes me feel very old that my first memory is watching television coverage of a Wales game against Ireland at Cardiff Arms Park when they were building the huge ’new’ North Stand, which was very state of the art. The ’new’ North stand has now been demolished for fully 15 years and the wonderful Millennium Stadium stands where the Arms Park once was.
Favourite Championship memory?
As you can imagine I was pretty nervous before my first game in charge as Ireland coach at the start of the 2009 tournament against France at Croke Park and we went behind early on to an Imanol Harinordoquy try, but then the team went into overdrive and Jamie Heaslip weaved one way and then the other for a great try. Suddenly I felt much better.
What changes would you make to the Six Nations?
I would not attempt to mend what is not broken. I have heard mention of bonus points but as a maths teacher I wonder how much that would have actually affected the overall result over the years. The tournament is grand and the bottom line is that you always play every game on its own merits.
Lesson from the World Cup?
It’s all on the day. Your preparation can be excellent and your form good but everything depends on how you perform on any given day. Ireland had a fine World Cup overall but we dipped slightly against a very good Wales side in the quarter-finals and were done for. Seize the day.
-----------------------------------------------
Jacques Brunel
Italy
Age: 58
Experience: France assistant coach 2001-7. Italy coach since 2011
What is your earliest Championship memory?
When I was just 10 watching a “local hero” Jean le Droff play second row for France in the 1964 Five Nations and being excited because he was an individual our family knew. A few years later I played briefly in the same Auch team as Jean just before he retired.
Favourite Championship memory?
Being part of a French set up for seven years which managed to win two Grand Slams and two other championships. In 2004 we had to beat England, who were still very strong after the World Cup, in a our final game in Paris and we just prevailed to win 24-21.
What changes would you make to the Six Nations?
Who am I to suggest changes to such a wonderful competition as I take charge of a team for the first time? The championship has evolved over a century or more and now we have a perfect synthesis of everything that we enjoy and hold dear in rugby. The opponents and venues are so familiar and yet nearly every season something extraordinary and unexpected happens. By accident or design we have the magic formula.
Lesson from the World Cup?
More balance. Our backs must be brought into the game more and discover a spirit of adventure. We do have talent there but we must use it and trust it. And if the backs offer more threat you will find that actually the forwards become even more effective because you turn to them as an option, not out of necessity.
-----------------------------------------------
Andy Robinson
Scotland
Age: 47
Experience: England Assistant coach 2000-2004. England coach 2004-2006. Scotland coach since 2009
What is your earliest Championship memory?
That Phil Bennett try for Wales at Murrayfield in 1977, still one of the great scores of all time. I had been to see England against Ireland the year before but I fell in love with the old Five Nations that day watching a great match and a fabulous try. And what a pass by Steve Fenwick.
Favourite Championship memory?
For pure personal rugby satisfaction and excitement, so far anyway, it was the day England went to Dublin in 2003 to tackle Ireland in a mighty head to head for the Grand Slam. It was anybody’s game at half-time, when England led 13-6. England were different class after the break. Not a bad day at the office at all.
What changes would you make to the Six Nations?
Whisper it quietly but I really like Friday night rugby under the lights and although it needs to be fine-tuned I would not give up too early on that experiment. I also love the drama and theatre we get at the World Cup when the two teams walk out together rather than run on separately as is the case in the Six Nations. But apart from that, nothing.
Lesson from the World Cup?
We must take our chances. We can compete with anybody around the park but we must show a killer instinct in putting tries away and making those final scores that turn narrow defeats into morale-boosting narrow wins.
-----------------------------------------------
Warren Gatland
Wales
Age: 48
Experience: Ireland coach 1998-2001. Wales coach since 2008
What is your earliest Championship memory?
Fuzzy black and white pictures on the TV down in New Zealand of grey, rainy, days from the distant north. Appearances were
deceptive. I now know that the championship is a riot of colour, passion, good rugby and great fun. The sun even shines occasionally. I love it.
Favourite Championship memory?
That Grand Slam with Wales in 2008 was great but I’m opting for Ireland, when I was coach, turning over England at Lansdowne Road in October 2001. England had been Grand Slam certainties but the foot and mouth outbreak stopped them and we were ready.
What changes would you make to the Six Nations?
We shouldn’t be afraid of looking at bonus points for losing by less than seven points and for scoring four tries. I see no downsides to that – the players and fans are well used to it now in our respective leagues and it adds another layer of interest on top of everything we already have.
Lesson from the World Cup?
On reflection I think I will put a curfew on the lads next time as to what time I want them back at the hotel.
Stuart Lancaster
England
Age: 42
Experience: First appointment as national coach
What is your earliest Championship memory?
I was 10 when St Bees School took a party up to Edinburgh to watch Scotland v France and we stood in the pouring rain in the schoolboy enclosure at the old Murrayfield. I was just gobsmacked watching the great Jean-Pierre Rives and from that day I never wanted to play anywhere other than flanker. So dynamic and so exciting. Jean-Claude Skrela was pretty useful as well!
Favourite Championship memory?
As an England fan I have never been more proud and more excited than watching that outstanding team of 2003 clinch the Grand Slam with a 42-6 win against Ireland at Lansdowne Road. That was a mighty performance under massive pressure, away from home and against classy opponents. A champagne day for English rugby.
What changes would you make to the Six Nations?
I will tell you at the end of it, this is my first time! From the outside looking in over the years it has seemed nigh-on perfect. The Six Nations is about people and fans as well as players and teams and everything slots together wonderfully well.
Lesson from the World Cup?
We must have a proper sense of ’togetherness’ We must have a strong England rugby culture that will operate in the good times and the bad. No international teams go unbeaten and you must not lose faith and confidence when you hit a sticky patch.
-----------------------------------------------
Philippe Saint-Andre
France
Age: 44
Experience: First appointment as national coach
What is your earliest Championship memory?
Sitting in front of the TV with my parents watching France win the 1977 Grand Slam with the same 15 players. That pack! Just look at that front row – Robert Paparemborde, Alain Paco and Gérard Cholley. Then you had Jean-Francois Imbernon and Michel Palmié in the second row and then Jean-Pierre Rives, Jean-Claude Skrela and Jean-Pierre Bastiat in the back row. They scared me and I am French.
Favourite Championship memory?
People always assume it must be the famous team try against England at Twickenham in 1991, but my favourite moment was my first game as France captain against Scotland in 1994 with France going on to win 20-12, our first win there for 16 years. I was a very happy France captain drinking whisky that night in Edinburgh.
What changes would you make to the Six Nations?
Not the format really, but France must fall into line with the British and Irish sides and have the two-week preparation camp before the tournament. We still have a full T14 club league programme the week before the Six Nations and it is a big worry for me and my coaching staff.
Lesson from the World Cup?
We have now played three World Cup finals and lost all three. So the message is simple: we must be more clinical in winning the very biggest games.
-----------------------------------------------
Declan Kidney
Ireland
Age: 52
Experience: Ireland assistant coach 2002-2004. Ireland coach since 2009
What is your earliest Championship memory?
It makes me feel very old that my first memory is watching television coverage of a Wales game against Ireland at Cardiff Arms Park when they were building the huge ’new’ North Stand, which was very state of the art. The ’new’ North stand has now been demolished for fully 15 years and the wonderful Millennium Stadium stands where the Arms Park once was.
Favourite Championship memory?
As you can imagine I was pretty nervous before my first game in charge as Ireland coach at the start of the 2009 tournament against France at Croke Park and we went behind early on to an Imanol Harinordoquy try, but then the team went into overdrive and Jamie Heaslip weaved one way and then the other for a great try. Suddenly I felt much better.
What changes would you make to the Six Nations?
I would not attempt to mend what is not broken. I have heard mention of bonus points but as a maths teacher I wonder how much that would have actually affected the overall result over the years. The tournament is grand and the bottom line is that you always play every game on its own merits.
Lesson from the World Cup?
It’s all on the day. Your preparation can be excellent and your form good but everything depends on how you perform on any given day. Ireland had a fine World Cup overall but we dipped slightly against a very good Wales side in the quarter-finals and were done for. Seize the day.
-----------------------------------------------
Jacques Brunel
Italy
Age: 58
Experience: France assistant coach 2001-7. Italy coach since 2011
What is your earliest Championship memory?
When I was just 10 watching a “local hero” Jean le Droff play second row for France in the 1964 Five Nations and being excited because he was an individual our family knew. A few years later I played briefly in the same Auch team as Jean just before he retired.
Favourite Championship memory?
Being part of a French set up for seven years which managed to win two Grand Slams and two other championships. In 2004 we had to beat England, who were still very strong after the World Cup, in a our final game in Paris and we just prevailed to win 24-21.
What changes would you make to the Six Nations?
Who am I to suggest changes to such a wonderful competition as I take charge of a team for the first time? The championship has evolved over a century or more and now we have a perfect synthesis of everything that we enjoy and hold dear in rugby. The opponents and venues are so familiar and yet nearly every season something extraordinary and unexpected happens. By accident or design we have the magic formula.
Lesson from the World Cup?
More balance. Our backs must be brought into the game more and discover a spirit of adventure. We do have talent there but we must use it and trust it. And if the backs offer more threat you will find that actually the forwards become even more effective because you turn to them as an option, not out of necessity.
-----------------------------------------------
Andy Robinson
Scotland
Age: 47
Experience: England Assistant coach 2000-2004. England coach 2004-2006. Scotland coach since 2009
What is your earliest Championship memory?
That Phil Bennett try for Wales at Murrayfield in 1977, still one of the great scores of all time. I had been to see England against Ireland the year before but I fell in love with the old Five Nations that day watching a great match and a fabulous try. And what a pass by Steve Fenwick.
Favourite Championship memory?
For pure personal rugby satisfaction and excitement, so far anyway, it was the day England went to Dublin in 2003 to tackle Ireland in a mighty head to head for the Grand Slam. It was anybody’s game at half-time, when England led 13-6. England were different class after the break. Not a bad day at the office at all.
What changes would you make to the Six Nations?
Whisper it quietly but I really like Friday night rugby under the lights and although it needs to be fine-tuned I would not give up too early on that experiment. I also love the drama and theatre we get at the World Cup when the two teams walk out together rather than run on separately as is the case in the Six Nations. But apart from that, nothing.
Lesson from the World Cup?
We must take our chances. We can compete with anybody around the park but we must show a killer instinct in putting tries away and making those final scores that turn narrow defeats into morale-boosting narrow wins.
-----------------------------------------------
Warren Gatland
Wales
Age: 48
Experience: Ireland coach 1998-2001. Wales coach since 2008
What is your earliest Championship memory?
Fuzzy black and white pictures on the TV down in New Zealand of grey, rainy, days from the distant north. Appearances were
deceptive. I now know that the championship is a riot of colour, passion, good rugby and great fun. The sun even shines occasionally. I love it.
Favourite Championship memory?
That Grand Slam with Wales in 2008 was great but I’m opting for Ireland, when I was coach, turning over England at Lansdowne Road in October 2001. England had been Grand Slam certainties but the foot and mouth outbreak stopped them and we were ready.
What changes would you make to the Six Nations?
We shouldn’t be afraid of looking at bonus points for losing by less than seven points and for scoring four tries. I see no downsides to that – the players and fans are well used to it now in our respective leagues and it adds another layer of interest on top of everything we already have.
Lesson from the World Cup?
On reflection I think I will put a curfew on the lads next time as to what time I want them back at the hotel.
maestegmafia- Posts : 23145
Join date : 2011-03-05
Location : Glyncorrwg
Re: Get to know the coaches for the Six Nations teams...
by ChequeredJersey Sun 05 Feb 2012, 12:07
I completely agree with Gatland re bonus points
ChequeredJersey- Posts : 18707
Join date : 2011-12-23
Age : 35
Location : London, UK
Re: Get to know the coaches for the Six Nations teams...
by maestegmafia Sun 05 Feb 2012, 12:10
Yeah i think it will become a staple in rugby competitions across the board.
maestegmafia- Posts : 23145
Join date : 2011-03-05
Location : Glyncorrwg
Re: Get to know the coaches for the Six Nations teams...
by gowales Sun 05 Feb 2012, 12:11
Yea i agree the excuse is it might not have changed many past results but the whole point is it would lead ti teams playing a more positive brand of rugby.
gowales- Posts : 2942
Join date : 2011-06-17
Re: Get to know the coaches for the Six Nations teams...
by HammerofThunor Sun 05 Feb 2012, 12:40
I like the way Gatland prefers beating England with Ireland than winning a Grand Slam with Wales.
Regarding bonus points, I'd have it as scoring 3 more tries than the opposition
Regarding bonus points, I'd have it as scoring 3 more tries than the opposition
HammerofThunor- Posts : 10471
Join date : 2011-01-29
Location : Hull, England - Originally Potteries
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