Stuart Lancaster will be missed at Leinster after making ‘massive impact’

Jamison Gibson-Park says Stuart Lancaster will be “dearly” missed as Leinster bid to give the former England head coach a fitting send-off by clinching European glory.

Lancaster, who has served as senior coach under Leo Cullen since 2016, will leave the Irish province at the end of the season to become director of rugby at French club Racing 92.

Leinster’s final shot at lifting silverware before the 53-year-old heads to Paris comes on Saturday evening when they take on La Rochelle in the final of the Heineken Champions Cup in Dublin.

Leinster scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park is preparing for a second successive Heineken Champions Cup final
Leinster scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park is preparing for a second successive Heineken Champions Cup final (Niall Carson/PA)

“It’s been incredible really. The turnaround from the start, the consistency throughout, his mindset has just been awesome.

“The way he came in and certainly for me personally changed a lot of things in my outlook on rugby. And I think that’s across the board with the rest of the team as well.

“He’s had a pretty massive impact on me and we’ll miss him dearly. Hopefully he goes well over in Racing.”

Leinster suffered an agonising loss to La Rochelle a year ago
Leinster suffered an agonising loss to La Rochelle a year ago (David Davies/PA)

Having suffered a semi-final exit to rivals Munster in the United Rugby Championship last weekend, Cullen’s men will attempt to end the campaign on a high at the Aviva Stadium ahead of a handful of notable departures.

In addition to the imminent exit of Lancaster, who contributed to Champions Cup success in 2018 and four URC titles, long-serving wing Dave Kearney and injured captain Johnny Sexton are heading towards retirement.

Asked if giving Englishman Lancaster a trophy to leave with was extra incentive, Gibson-Park said: “I don’t think he would expect us to think of it that way but obviously Stu’s moving on and a few other guys are finishing up as well.

Stuart Lancaster was England head coach between 2011 and 2015 before moving to Leinster
Stuart Lancaster was England head coach between 2011 and 2015 before moving to Leinster (Martin Rickett/PA)

“We’ll be focused on that but sure there are some guys that deserve a pretty good send-off.”

Leinster are hoping to equal Toulouse’s record of five Champions Cup titles by exacting revenge on Ronan O’Gara’s side.

Ireland international Gibson-Park will return to the starting XV alongside a host of other star names after head coach Cullen opted to rest them for last weekend’s surprise 16-15 defeat by Munster.

La Rochelle celebrated Heineken Champions Cup glory last year in Marseille
La Rochelle celebrated Heineken Champions Cup glory last year in Marseille (David Davies/PA)

“We will just be chasing a performance and that’s the most important thing for us, to try and get that right.

“Obviously it’s very tough with a team as good as they are so it’s going to be challenging but we’re looking forward to it.”

Asked if Leinster will alter their style due to the formidable size of the opposition’s pack, he added: “We won’t be changing things drastically, I don’t think.

“But you’ve got to be smart around how you attack them so we’ll see how we go.”

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