Paul O’Connell has been confirmed as the Ireland interim head coach for the summer’s Tests away to Georgia and Portugal. As revealed by The Irish Times last week, O’Connell is set to assume the reins in the light of Simon Easterby being co-opted on to the British and Irish Lions coaching ticket for the summer tour to Australia, with Andrew Goodman and John Fogarty also among Andy Farrell’s assistants.
In response to Farrell enlisting three more of the Irish coaching ticket, as well as strength & conditioning coach Aled Walters, who previously worked with England, and video analyst Vinny Murray, the IRFU issued a statement congratulating all those chosen.
The IRFU performance director David Humphreys said: “On behalf of the IRFU, I would like to congratulate Simon [Easterby], John [Fogarty] and Andrew [Goodman] on their respective selections for the forthcoming British and Irish Lions tour to Australia.
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“It is a huge statement of faith in their skill-sets and standing within the wider game, and I have no doubt that they will contribute greatly to a successful Lions tour.
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“Their appointments mark significant milestones in their coaching careers, as it will for Vinny Hammond and Aled Walters, who were previously confirmed earlier this year. They will proudly follow in the footsteps of a long list of Irish coaches who have represented Ireland previously with the Lions coaching and management teams.
“To head coach Andy Farrell and to all those players who will hopefully be selected in a few weeks, we wish them all the very best of luck.
“Simon’s appointment means that an opportunity arises for a new interim head coach for the two-match summer tour to Georgia [July 5th] and Portugal [July 12th] and I’m delighted that Paul O’Connell will assume the role for this tour. Details around the remainder of the Ireland coaching team will be announced next week.”
It seems highly probable that the former Ireland and Lions captain will be assisted by many of those who oversaw Ireland’s A game against England in Bristol last month.
Mike Prendergast was the head coach, with Jimmy Duffy, who formerly worked with Connacht and is now with Ulster, serving as forwards coach. Leinster’s contact and skills coach Sean O’Brien was the Ireland ‘A’ defence coach, with Connacht’s Mark Sexton, who is also bound for Ulster, the backs/assistant attack coach and Colm Tucker, currently guiding Connacht on an interim basis, duplicating his role with the province as scrum/breakdown coach.
Easterby served as the Ireland interim head coach while Farrell was on his Lions sabbatical for the duration of the 2025 Six Nations, leading Ireland to four wins out of five and a third-placed finish as well as the Triple Crown.
He was a player on the Lions tour 20 years ago to New Zealand, whereas Goodman, Fogarty and indeed Farrell have never played on one. Ironically O’Connell is a three-time Lions’ tourist who captained the squad on their 2009 tour to South Africa, but will now head the Irish squad in Georgia and Portugal.
O’Connell has been part of the Ireland coaching ticket since accepting Farrell’s offer to become the team’s forwards coach in January 2021 in place of Easterby, who switched roles to become the defence coach.
Eyebrows will be raised at so many of the Ireland backroom team joining the Lions equivalent and so miss the Ireland matches against Georgia and Portugal. But the flip side is that they should all gain from the experience, as should O’Connell, Prendergast, O’Brien et al when step into the fold for Ireland’s games in Tbilisi and Lisbon.
These developments certainly make for a more interesting summer.
