After managing Leeds Tykes/Carnegie and the England Saxons, Lancaster was appointed as the head coach of the English national team in 2011 until he stepped down in 2015, following the World Cup.
He then joined Leinster as a senior coach the following year where he won one European Rugby Champions Cup in 2018 as well as four Pro 14 championships within a staff run by Leo Cullen before leaving for Racing 92 in 2023.
After leaving school in 1988, Lancaster headed to Carnegie College in Leeds to train as a PE Teacher, while continuing his rugby career playing for Wakefield RFC.
When Headingley merged with Roundhay RUFC, Lancaster joined the newly formed team Leeds RFU,[4] where he would play the remainder of career.
[6] A teenage Tom Palmer, who would later play under Lancaster, hit a tackle bag that Stuart was holding, tearing his hamstring off the bone completely.
However, in 2006 after Leeds Tykes were relegated after the 2005–06 Guinness Premiership season, Lancaster replaced Phil Davies as head coach before the 2006–07 National Division One.
The move was taken poorly by the owners of Leeds Carnegie the club where he was Director of Rugby before joining the RFU, who felt they should have been contacted regarding the appointment.
Examples of this policy include Danny Care's exclusion from the 2012 Six Nations Championship,[16] and Manu Tuilagi's omission from England's 2015 Rugby World Cup preparations.
[21][22] On 29 March 2012, following a second-place finish in the Six Nations campaign, Lancaster was appointed as the English head coach, keeping his assistants Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell.
During the 2012 end-of-year rugby union internationals, Lancaster led the English to narrow defeats to Australia 20–14 and South Africa 15–16, before leading England to a 38–21 victory over World Cup Champions New Zealand.
[26] The scale of the defeat saw Lancaster criticised for his selection of inside centre, and the balance of England's back row, which lacked a breakdown specialist to compete with Wales' Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric.
On 2 November 2013, Lancaster reclaimed the Cook Cup after leading England to a 20–13 victory over Australia, before beating Argentina for a third consecutive time 31–12.
In 2014, England finished second in the Six Nations for a third time under Lancaster, with a loss against France, 26–24 in Paris, coming in the opening week of the tournament.
During England's preparations for the 2015 World Cup, Lancaster took the squad to Colorado for a 2-week training programme, followed by tests against France and Ireland.
[35] On 11 November 2015, Lancaster announced his resignation as England Head Coach, taking full "responsibility for the team's performance during the tournament".
[39] It had been thought that the coaching staff for Leinster was complete, however the sudden departure of Kurt McQuilkin, due to family reasons, meant there was a position available.
On 26 September 2022, Leinster Rugby announced that Lancaster would be leaving to join French Top 14 side Racing 92 for the following season.
[40][41] On 30 June 2023, Racing 92 officially announced the appointment of Lancaster as first-team head coach alongside assistants Dimitri Szarzewski, Frédéric Michalak and Joe Rokocoko.