Former English national rugby head coach Stuart Lancaster and Falcons head coach Dan Quinn share the same affinity for the mindset an athlete approaches the game with.
Quinn often talks about the importance of finishing, and Lancaster shares the same belief. Lancaster is widely-respected in the sport, having both played and coached professionally.
The two were destined to cross paths at some point, and they did this offseason at a leadership conference in Los Angeles. The connection was evident and so Quinn, Lancaster and general manager Thomas Dimitroff etched out a plan to have the rugby coach make a visit to Flowery Branch.
"I talked to them about winning the last meter, winning the collision and finishing the tackle," Lancaster said of his visit.
In addition to sharing similar coaching philosophies, Quinn knew his team and coaching staff could benefit from Lancaster's knowledge on the leverage-based tackling style they use.
"In a rugby game, they are tackling constantly so we thought there was a lot to gain from Stuart," Quinn said. "He came in and we spent a good bit of time talking tackling, [finding out] what drills to use and [seeing] if there's a crossover that we use from our game that he can use, and something from his game that we might be able to use. Any chance we can get that interaction; we are going to find it."
Not only did Lancaster teach the Falcons how they can improve their tackling technique, more importantly, he extended Quinn's message on how essential finishing in every aspect of the game truly is.
