House of Lancaster is fighting for the future of Yorkshire

Neale Harvey talks to young fly-half Dan Lancaster about his love for Carnegie and the influence of his dad, Stuart

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You learn plenty about people in times of adversity and 18-year-old Yorkshire Carnegie playmaker Dan Lancaster is proving to be made of stern stuff, just like his dad, Stuart.

Chucked into a hastily-constructed side salvaged from the ashes of administration in the summer, Lancaster is excelling amid an increasingly desperate fight against relegation.

So much so that Carnegie rugby director Martyn Wood – who describes

Lancaster as a “good communicator, brave, reads a game well and has a great boot” – recently recommended he should be considered for England’s upcoming U20s Six Nations campaign.

Carnegie’s record of 12 games played, 12 losses, 123 points for and 632 against is enough to make anyone take pause. However, Lancaster insists he is ‘living the dream’ at the home town club he always aspired to represent.

“I’m enjoying it,” Lancaster told The Rugby Paper. “It’s your dream to play for your home town club and I’ve been a ball boy, a season ticket holder and watched games at Leeds for as long as I can remember, so I’m just taking every game as a learning experience.

“I remember being a ball boy when we played Saracens at Headingley in March 2010 – I was eight and stood behind the sticks when we beat them that day.