Lancaster has resurrected the England team from the ashes of their 2011 World Cup quarter-final exit and is now expected to deliver the Webb Ellis Cup with the tournament on home soil for the first time since 1991.

The 45-year-old had a solid if unspectacular playing career, playing for Leeds for eight years until injury forced him to retire in 2000 at the age of 30. Due to Lancaster’s mother being Scottish, he also played for the Scotland Under-19 and U20 sides.

In 2001, Lancaster started along the coaching path by heading up the Leeds Academy and after four years, he became the director of rugby at Leeds Carnegie. This brought him to the attention of the RFU and in 2008 he was named England’s elite rugby director and was tasked with developing the younger players while also coaching the England Saxons.

Following the 2011 RWC and Martin Johnson’s resignation as coach, Lancaster was installed in an interim role for the 2012 Six Nations. And after a successful campaign, with England finishing second, Lancaster was handed the reins on a permanent basis.

Since then, England have again been runners-up in the Six Nations for the past three years and won the Triple Crown in 2014.