Leinster have announced in the past few minutes that former England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster has joined the province as a replacement for Kurt McQuilkin.
Leinster confirmed the news via a statement on their website:
The sad departure of Kurt McQuilkin due to family reasons has brought about an opportunity to bring in somebody new to the Leinster Rugby coaching team.
Stuart brings a wealth of experience and is a highly respected figure in world rugby. We are all looking forward to having Stuart join our team and together helping the players maximise their potential as a group.
Leinster Rugby CEO Mick Dawson confirmed that former England head coach Lancaster would join the Leinster Rugby coaching team as a Senior Coach with immediate effect until the end of the season.
We are always looking at options around resources but once we were made aware of Kurt McQuilkin's departure, we narrowed our focus and we are delighted that Stuart has agreed to come on board.
I know, having spoken at length to Stuart, that he is excited by the challenge of getting into club rugby again and the day to day interaction with players. His first session with Leo, Girvan, John and the players will be later on this afternoon.
We welcome Stuart to the club. I think our supporters are going to be excited by this announcement and we wish him all the very best for the season ahead.
Interestingly, despite the fact that McQuilkin was Leinster's defence coach, Lancaster has been handed the title of "Senior Coach", so it will be interesting to see how the roles assumed by each member of the shaken-up coaching ticket.
While Lancaster was with England, Andy Farrell assumed coaching duties for the English defence.
Since leaving England after the 2015 World Cup, Lancaster has had short term roles as a defence coach with the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL. He has also worked with Britain's famed cycling team, and was consulted by the English Football Association as to who should succeed Roy Hodgson as the English football manager.
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