Simon Easterby has clearer memories than most of Ireland’s Six Nations game against Wales at the Principality Stadium last year. Standing in while Andy Farrell organised his Lions squad for their Australian tour, Easterby was head coach against a Welsh team that caused Ireland some real problems. He expects as much again next Friday night … Read more
John Dalziel, Simon Easterby, John Fogarty, Andrew Goodman and Richard Wigglesworth have been appointed as Andy Farrell’s assistant coaches for the upcoming British and Irish Lions tour to Australia. While Wigglesworth, Easterby, Goodman and Fogarty were all expected to be named, Scotland coach Dalziel’s appointment as forwards coach is a surprise inclusion. Easterby, Goodman and Fogarty … Read more
British & Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell will unveil his coaching team for this summer’s tour of Australia, with the official announcement on Wednesday morning. Current Ireland interim head coach Simon Easterby is set to be confirmed as defence coach of the elite group, with John Fogarty taking the role of scrum coach and … Read more
Ireland’s performance in the Stadio Olimpico caught me by surprise. I had talked myself into the belief that there would be a positive reaction to the defeat against France and it would manifest itself in Rome. This Ireland rugby team has ramped up expectations, both for themselves and their supporter base, due to the overarching … Read more
Simon Easterby has a point. When you start off a campaign strongly and finish it anti-climactic, winning four games out of five is viewed differently than if the results had been the other way around. It’s akin to a 2-2 or 3-3 draw in football when one team comes from two or three down. The … Read more
Andy Farrell is set to name an Irish-dominant coaching staff for the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia in July with Johnny Sexton set for a shock coaching role, according to reports. Farrell was replaced as Ireland’s head coach for the 2025 Six Nations in order to continue his preparations for the tour with … Read more
Ireland visit Rome’s Stadio Olimpico this afternoon as they look to bounce back to a chastening defeat to France last weekend which effectively ended their title hopes. Simon Easterby has made six changes for the game against Italy with Jack Crowley in for Sam Prendergast at out-half the headline switch. We’ll have all the updates … Read more
Statistics, the last refuge of the scoundrel. And I’d know. One that caught the eye was that Ireland had just 47% possession in their first two games – the second lowest after Italy (44%) – but they have enjoyed more territory (56%) than any other side and made more entries into the opposition 22 (22) … Read more
An apocryphal story in coaching circles tells the tale of a new head coach who walks into his office on day one and finds three sealed envelopes on his desk. Written by the outgoing coach who was just sacked for a series of poor results, the first envelope was labelled “Open after losing five games”. … Read more
Dan Sheehan is set to be named as the latest Ireland captain for Saturday’s Six Nations match against Wales in Cardiff when the team is announced on Thursday morning. Both regular captain Caelan Doris and Rónan Kelleher have been ruled out of the round three tie, and the signs are that Sheehan has been asked … Read more