Penrith-born Stuart Lancaster admits he has learnt a lot about himself as a coach over the last few years.

Lancaster, who left his role as England head coach in 2015, has impressed with Leinster since he joined them as senior coach the following year.

Discussing his leadership style, the Culgaith man said: “I think an ability to accurately self-assess [is important], knowing your strengths and weaknesses.

"I have certainly learnt a lot about myself over the last few years, certainly in the last 12 months, what my strengths are and what my limits are.

“One of my strengths would be managing many relationships, trying to get the best out of people and connecting with many people. My limit as a leader, in this sense, is I do care about people and, as a consequence, when I have to make difficult decisions on selection or contracts or whatever, it takes a lot out of me.

"I will always have those conversations face to face, but it does hurt me to see other people not achieve the goals that they want to achieve.”

“Other coaches, perhaps, would be more – not ruthless – but more confident in doing those things and it wouldn’t affect them personally,” Lancaster added on a Lessons with Leaders podcast.

“They would be able to distance themselves from that relationship. I guess, for me, what I try to do is get close to the players – not so close that I can’t make those difficult decisions – but close enough so that they want to play for me.”

Lancaster also told a tale of how a friend had praised a colleague.

He said: “I heard a story about a leader who stood up and he had his PA’s name badge on his jacket. He stood up and explained he was wearing it because he said he wouldn’t be stood there if it wasn’t for her.

"I thought that was a brilliant way of making her feel good about herself for his success.”