Ireland appoint full-time coaches

Three positions have been created - a Director of Sevens and Women's Rugby (who will also coach the women's sevens and men's sides), a Head Coach of the national XV team, who will also become assistant coach of the sevens side, and a Head of Strength and Conditioning.

While Ireland's outgoing sevens head coach Jon Skurr was fulltime, this is the first time the IRFU has funded a fulltime women's XV head coach. Scrumqueens.comreported earlierthis week that Skurr and fitness coach Ross Callaghan were leaving the set up.

Anthony Eddyhas been appointed Director of Sevens and Women’s Rugby and with a hands on coaching role with the Women’s and Men’s Sevens Squads while overseeing the Women’s XV programme.

Anthony was formerly the General Manager of Rugby Sevens at the Australian Rugby Union and previous to that role was the High Performance Unit National Programmes Manager at the ARU.  He was also an assistant coach at the ACT Brumbies and Queensland Reds in Super Rugby and was head coach at English Championship Club Worcester Warriors. He has also coached the Australian U20 team between 2009 and 2012.

Tom Tierneywill join Eddy’s staff as head coach of the Ireland Women’s XV team and as assistant coach to the Women’s Sevens Squad.  Tierney will commence his role with the Ireland Women’s team ahead of the 2015 RBS 6 Nations Championship.

He won 8 caps for Ireland is a Level 5 accredited coach who has developed experience with a number of top Ulster Bank Leagues clubs such as Garryowen and Cork Constitution.  Last season his Club International squad recorded impressive victories over their English and Scottish counterparts.

Marian Earls has been installed as Head of Strength and Conditioning for Sevens and Women’s Rugby which will see the Galway native provide support to the Ireland Women’s team and the Women’s and Men’s Sevens squads.

David Nucifora, IRFU Performance Director, commented, “A review of the existing women’s rugby representative structures revealed a need for greater integration of both the 15-a-side and Sevens programmes from both a coaching and player support perspective.  We believe we have put in place a strong coaching unit and the appropriate support structures that will enable both versions of the game to drive on in tandem.  The establishment of three full-time positions signifies the IRFU’s commitment to creating a high performance environment for Irish representative women’s rugby.”

MARIAN EARLS

Marian currently holds the post of Lead Academy S&C at Connacht Rugby and worked successfully with the Ireland Women’s team in the built up to and during the 2014 IRB Women’s Rugby World Cup.  Marian holds a degree in Sports and Exercise from the University of Limerick and a masters in Strength and Conditioning from the University of Edinburgh.