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Stuart Lancaster has resigned as England head coach following the ill-fated Rugby World Cup campaign, bringing an end to his four-year tenure.
Lancaster was given the task of restoring the reputation of English rugby following the 2011 World Cup campaign in New Zealand, which saw the nation suffer a quarter-final defeat to France combined with a number of off-the-field incidents that left the national team as the laughing stock of world rugby.
Taking over from former head coach and 2003 Rugby World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson, Lancaster immediately went about instilling a sense of discipline behind his selection policy, but despite improved performances across the board England were unable to win a Six Nations title under Lancaster’s stewardship – having finished in second place in all four of his campaigns.
Lancaster leaves the role with a record of 28 victories from 46 Test matches, but he was criticised for the handling of the squad and, especially, the selection of Sam Burgess as an inside centre rather than a blindside flanker where he was plying his trade for club side Bath.
We take a look at the key events in Lancaster’s reign as England coach.
Show all 14 1 /14Highs and lows of Stuart Lancaster's England reign Highs and lows of Stuart Lancaster's England reign 4 February 2012 Lancaster’s reign gets off to a successful, albeit slow start at Murrayfield as England defeat Scotland 13-6 in their Six Nations opener, with Charlie Hodgson scoring a crucial try while Chris Robshaw captains his country for the first time.
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Highs and lows of Stuart Lancaster's England reign 25 February 2012 England suffer their first loss under Lancaster as eventual Six Nations champions Wales beat them 19-12 at Twickenham, Lancaster’s first match at home.
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Highs and lows of Stuart Lancaster's England reign 29 March 2012 After beating Ireland 30-9 on the final day of the Six Nations to finish second two weeks’ earlier, the RFU confirm interim coach Lancaster as the permanent head coach through to the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
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Highs and lows of Stuart Lancaster's England reign 23 June 2012 After consecutive defeats to South Africa, England manage to draw the third and final Test 14-14 in Port Elizabeth, with Danny Care scoring a try and Toby Flood and Owen Farrell contributing nine points.
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Highs and lows of Stuart Lancaster's England reign 1 December 2012 England head into the autumn international with world champions New Zealand under growing pressure after narrow defeats to Australia and South Africa raised questions of Robshaw and Lancaster’s suitability as captain and coach respectfully. However, England produce one of the performances of Lancaster’s reign to beat the All Blacks 38-21 at Twickenham to end the year on a massive high.
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Highs and lows of Stuart Lancaster's England reign 16 March 2013 England lose a Six Nations decider to Wales 30-3 in a humiliating defeat in Cardiff that not only sees the Grand Slam go begging but also the championship on points difference. The result will haunt the England squad for the next two years until England gain revenge in the 2015 championship.
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Highs and lows of Stuart Lancaster's England reign 16 November 2013 England just miss out on an unblemished autumn international programme as victories over Australia and Argentina are followed by a 30-22 loss to New Zealand.
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Highs and lows of Stuart Lancaster's England reign 1 February 2014 A late Gael Fickou try hands France a 26-24 victory in the Six Nations opener that will again cost England the championship and a Grand Slam. England go on to produce a promising performance in the penultimate match though as they beat Wales 29-18 at Twickenham to generate momentum for the rest of the year.
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Highs and lows of Stuart Lancaster's England reign 7 June 2014 England let a rare victory in New Zealand slip from their grasp as, when leading 15-12 with 10 minutes to play in Auckland, the All Blacks level the scores before a 77th-minute Conrad Smith try seals a 20-15 victory. England are blown off the park the following weekend, although they rally late and pull within a point of New Zealand before going down 28-27, but the final Test proves too much for a tired squad as they suffer a comprehensive 36-13 loss.
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Highs and lows of Stuart Lancaster's England reign 29 November 2014 Lancaster heads into the final autumn international against Australia knowing victory is a must following defeats to New Zealand and South Africa by a combined total of six points. Ben Morgan stars with two tries as England defeat the Wallabies 26-17 in another standout performance that has fans talking up hopes of World Cup glory.
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Highs and lows of Stuart Lancaster's England reign 1 March 2015 Defeat in Dublin once again costs England dear as they record Six Nations victories over Wales, Italy, Scotland and France only to lose to Ireland and miss out on the championship. However, a thrilling final day sees England run 55 points past France in a bid to build a 26-point advantage that will seal them the title, only to concede 35 points in doing so.
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Highs and lows of Stuart Lancaster's England reign 26 September 2015 After an opening Rugby World Cup victory over Fiji, England fail to hold on to a lead against a depleted Wales side and lose their pool match 28-25 to leave them on the back-foot. Sam Burgess makes just his second ever start for England.
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Highs and lows of Stuart Lancaster's England reign 3 October 2015 England must win their Twickenham clash with Australia to progress to the knockout stages, but they are comprehensively beaten 33-13 to leave fans hugely disappointed and massive question marks over Lancaster’s future. Despite beating Uruguay a week later, England are eliminated from their own World Cup, becoming the first individual host nation to fail to make it to the knockout stages.
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Highs and lows of Stuart Lancaster's England reign 11 November 2015 The RFU announce that Lancaster has resigned as England manager by mutual consent.
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The RFU have already confirmed that they have begun a recruitment process to determine Lancaster's successor.
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