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Andy Farrell brings in Paul O'Connell to bolster Ireland management ahead of Six Nations
By Online Editors
Ireland are looking to ramp-up their efforts in 2021 following an inconsistent first calendar year with Andy Farrell at the helm by adding former Lions skipper Paul O'Connell to their coaching ticket as forwards coach.
Farrell's Ireland struggled for consistency throughout 2020, winning their home games in Dublin but losing meekly on the road in England (twice) and France. With that in mind, they have opted to bring in O'Connell, who has been inactive since finishing a year at Stade Francais in 2019.
His inclusion will see current forwards coach Simon Easterby, a former Lions and Ireland teammate of O'Connell, switch to focus fully on coaching the defence.
Farrell said: "Paul brings a wealth of rugby knowledge with him and as forwards coach he will have responsibility for the forwards including the lineout working alongside John (Fogarty). He will also be another strong voice and leader within the group.
"Simon (Easterby) has a real passion for defence and having developed Ireland’s forward play over the past six years with the additional responsibility for the defence over the past twelve months, he will now be able to focus his energy and rugby intellect on this area of our game."
O’Connell added: "I'm really looking forward to working with Andy and the rest of the coaching group. I worked with Simon as a player and am looking forward to working with him again. It’s an exciting young group of players to be involved with and there are talented forwards coming through across the four provinces that will no doubt be pushing for international selection in the coming months and years."
IRFU performance director David Nucifora said: "Paul is a young Irish coach with a huge amount of international rugby experience. We have been keen to find the right opportunity for him within Irish rugby and we think the fit with the national squad will work well. He joins the national coaching group with immediate effect as they prepare for the upcoming Guinness Six Nations Championship."
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Look, we know contradicting opinions and wacky comments bring readers and clicks, so well done to RP for allowing always-wrong-Ben to say something here. However RP needs to put a disclaimer next to his comments for their own credibility. NZ was and is incapable of acknowledging their opp beating them. They refused so with Ire and with Arg in 2022 and also the Boks in 2023 x 2. Nothing Ben says here holds water, NZ attacked backwards, except when Kolisi and Kolbe was off And cyncialy took out Bongi, we played without lineouts for 75mins. Kolisi and Kurt-Lee almost scored twice. Thats 3 vs 2 for Boks, but the Boks opportunities was legal. Boks should have been 16-3 up by half time. Tacticaly the Boks attacked better defended better scrummed better (without a hooker) kicked better and crossed the whitewash more times. Boks beat Fr Eng Nz to win in 23, comeon give some credit at least. Even Federer Verstappen NY Mets, Mamoa, was able to see a great human sport achievement by the Boks and their DNA Boks #RWC27 !🏉
Go to commentsForget the 85kg bit, that can become something else. However I do like the one off test on ANZAC day idea. SR plays Fri/ Sat, test players travel Sunday and the squads have the full week together before playing Saturday. Rest of SR has a week off. Either involve women's teams in same location or in the other country and rotate annually. Herbert is right in that change is needed.
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