Love stories generally end badly. Stuart Lancaster’s at Racing 92 lasted less than two seasons, cut short in early 2025 by the board for a lack of results. On the podcast Human Alchemy, hosted by former professional player Ross Neal and picked up by RugbyPass, the former England head coach shed some light on what, in his view, meant things did not work out for him in the Hauts-de-Seine.
“They were happy when they played and happy when they didn’t play”
He called out in particular the mindset of certain senior players, without naming names. “There was a group of players, on good contracts, who were happy when they played and also when they didn’t. They weren’t disruptive or bad guys, they were good guys but they had no desire to be the best they could possibly be.”
A supposed nonchalance that was not to Lancaster’s taste. “So frustrated towards the end after a defeat at Stade Français”, he revealed that he had asked all his players to mark their team-mates from 1 to 10 on the technical, physical and above all mental side in order to draw up a ranking. The outcome was surprising, with young players among the leaders on the mental side and, conversely, older men regarded as senior figures, on big salaries, down at the bottom of the list.
Stuart Lancaster has bounced back since his failed spell at Racing 92, having signed before the summer with the Irish province of Connacht.
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