Lancaster's six-year deal a risk IRFU know only too well
England head coach Stuart Lancaster: Dismissive of Gatland claim
IN ENGLAND, most of the reaction to news that Stuart Lancaster has been handed a six-year extension to his current contract as English coach has been talk of a sensible RFU decision, but on this side of the Irish Sea there has been a different sort of knowing glance exchanged.
The IRFU got their hands burnt when, before the 2007 World Cup and on the crest of a wave, they handed Eddie O'Sullivan a long-term extension.
Under the long-serving coach, Ireland had just put in their most impressive Six Nations performance in decades, narrowly missing out on the title. After a third Triple Crown in four seasons, Ireland were optimistic about the upcoming World Cup.
In the heady days of 2007, the IRFU extended O'Sullivan's deal until 2012, with chief executive Philip Browne lauding the announcement as a "timely indication of our faith and confidence" ahead of the World Cup.
Within a year, O'Sullivan had resigned after 12 months that couldn't have gone much worse, with his team's World Cup collapse his ultimate undoing.
Yesterday, Browne's counterpart at Twickenham, Ian Ritchie, was hailing the English union's commitment to "stability", emphasising the importance of "securing the future" of the entire coaching ticket.
This day next year, Lancaster (below) and his backroom team will be making their final preparations for their Pool A clash with Australia and almost finished the week that may ultimately define his time in charge.
The draw for England's home World Cup could not have been more cruel to the hosts, with the Wallabies fixture coming seven days after they face Wales at Twickenham in the bona fide 'pool of death'.
The bookies reckon Lancaster will guide his charges out of those shark-infested waters and have gone as far as installing England as second-favourites behind the world champion All Blacks to go the whole way.
That's despite a decidedly average winning return for the coach who has turned England's image around since taking over from Martin Johnson, but hasn't quite had the same results.
His winning percentage is 60pc, he has yet to win a trophy and, despite famously beating the All Blacks in December 2012, he has only a win over Australia to add to that against southern hemisphere opposition in 11 attempts.
The thinking is that the new deal will ease the pressure valve next September, but if England fail to get out of their pool it will be curtains for a man who is unlikely to walk away even if he does win the Webb Ellis Cup.
The imperative to secure the future of a national coach seems greater here with Joe Schmidt's current deal up in 2016 and likely to attract interest from the Lions and back in his native New Zealand, but IRFU performance director David Nucifora has said there is no rush in extending that contract.
Today, the RFU can congratulate themselves on their foresight, but if things go wrong in a year yesterday's news is going to hit them in the pocket.
The price of stability can be an expensive one, as the Irish union know too well from experience.
