Stuart Lancaster: Reaction to new England coach being named
Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Stuart Lancaster has been appointed as permanent England head coach.
BBC Sport rounds up the reaction from the rugby world.
TOM CROFT England and Leicester Tigers flanker
"It is great news. He really shaped that England side into the way it was performing during the [Six Nations] tournament.
"He did a great job so he is the ideal man to keep in the role. I look forward to working with him again in the summer if I am selected.
"The Six Nations was a thoroughly enjoyable time to wear that England shirt. I was surrounded by guys who just wanted to work for each other and do that shirt proud."
JEREMY GUSCOTT Former England centre
"The results made it almost impossible not to give him the job.
"Stuart has based his coaching on leadership, respect and values. The guys who have been a little bit naughty - like Danny Care and Delon Armitage - have been excluded from the squad and rightly so. He's set a standard and I don't think he'll go back from that.
"Individually, England aren't fantastic but the sum of their parts is working incredibly well.
"The future for Lancaster is fairly bright, but we have to keep a lid on the expectation. Are those players better than New Zealand, South Africa, or even Wales, right now? No is probably the answer but Lancaster has three to four years to develop them into world beaters."
MARTIN CORRY Former England captain
"Lancaster has shown himself more than capable and has a great opportunity. They have given him the job past the World Cup.
"We've got a very young side which is going to take a lot of developing but shows bags of potential. Let's not judge on the summer or autumn, but give him space to develop his side.
"I think the process has to be questioned a little bit. You look at Wayne Smith [former All Blacks assistant coach], who I regard as a world-class coach, he ruled himself out, saying the job seemed more like a PR exercise than actually coaching a world-class side.
"You never know what goes behind the scenes but the appointment of recruitment consultants to go out and find the best guys didn't reflect too well on the RFU. A lot of guys seemed to rule themselves out, not knowing where they stood.
"In Lancaster they gave the job to someone in hope and thankfully, in the Six Nations, that hope was delivered.
"If you look at this appointment and to when Clive Woodward took the job, Clive almost got the job by default with the fact that there wasn't many other options out there and look how well he did."
SIR CLIVE WOODWARD Coach of England's 2003 World Cup winners and director of sport at the British Olympic Association
"The performance of the England team during the recent Six Nations Championship demonstrated great progress and I wish Stuart and his team continued success.
"The London 2012 Olympics is the start of an exciting series of major sporting events taking place in the UK during the coming years, representing a golden opportunity for British sport.
"Here at the British Olympic Association we are very aware of the significance of enthusiastic home support and I am sure Stuart and his team will enjoy England rugby supporters' full backing going forward towards the Rugby World Cup in 2015 on home soil."
BRIAN MOORE Former England hooker
"I think it is important that when England have a World Cup on home soil, they have an indigenous coach.
"With this group of players, it seems that Lancaster has got the chemistry. And who's to say that a person with a more extensive CV would have been able to do that?
"They will have hard times ahead. They have got southern hemisphere games that they are likely to lose and it will not be a straightforward path. Anyone who expects it to be so is a fool."
NICK MALLETT Former South Africa coach, who was interviewed for job
"I am sure he will continue to build on the good work he has done with the team in the aftermath of a difficult World Cup."
DICK BEST Former England coach
"He has done remarkably well in a short space of time. The honeymoon period is now over. It's a fairly tough beginning for his full-time role.
"They are on course but they have to go up a couple of notches from the Six Nations for the games in South Africa and the autumn."
RICHARD COCKERILL Leicester head coach and former England hooker
"Stuart is a bit like myself, he is there by circumstance rather than ambition.
"He has taken his opportunity, so you have got to congratulate him for that. He has done a good job during the Six Nations, and English rugby is on a high after the World Cup, so you wish him the best of luck.
"He has been very good so far, you have got to encourage that, but we will see what comes."
RICHARD HILL Worcester head coach and former England scrum-half
"Kevin Bowring [Rugby Football Union's head of elite coach development] has a coaching programme that is meant to develop good English coaches and I think it is testament to his programme that Stuart Lancaster has come through, done well and deserves the job.
"That system is working. I am pleased for Kevin Bowring, because he puts a lot of hard work into that system."
DANNY CIPRIANI Sale-bound Melbourne Rebels and England fly-half
On Twitter: "Congratulations to Stuart Lancaster. His passion is second to none."
MARK McCAFFERTY Premiership Rugby chief executive
"We have been fully aware of his outstanding abilities for some time.
"He understands the mechanics of the professional game in England and has been involved in the infrastructure of our sport for many years."
DAMIEN HOPLEY Rugby Players' Association chief executive
"We have all been thoroughly impressed by his professional approach, vision and dedication to achieving the best for English rugby from the day he was appointed interim head coach.
"Stuart is tremendously popular with the players and quickly earned their respect and trust through his honesty, humility and strong work ethic."
