Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Paul O'Connell is set to step up as interim head coach.Dan Sheridan/INPHO Development O'Connell to lead important Ireland tour shorn of other Irish coaches Simon Easterby had been due to remain in place as interim head coach. 2.07pm, 26 Mar 2025 Share options WE KNEW THERE was likely to be a strong contingent of Irish players heading away on the Lions tour this summer, but it wasn’t clear just how many of his Ireland staff Andy Farrell would also call on for the trip to Australia. Forwards coach Paul O’Connell is the only one left, and he is now set to step up as Ireland interim head coach for the Tests against Georgia on 5 July in Tbilisi and Portugal on 12 July in Lisbon. Those two Ireland Tests have yet to be officially confirmed, but an Irish recce to Georgia will be undertaken in the next week or so and an announcement should follow soon. It will be interesting to see the exact make-up of the Irish coaching staff around O’Connell. Johnny Sexton has been working as a part-time assistant since last autumn but only became part of the matchday coaching staff for the last two games of this year’s Six Nations. It remains to be seen if he will go on tour in July. The expectation is that the Ireland staff will be made up of coaches currently working with the provinces. Munster attack coach Mike Prendergast recently head-coached Ireland A and seems a strong contender to join O’Connell’s staff this summer. Connacht’s Colm Tucker [scrum], Leinster’s Sean O’Brien [defence], Ulster’s Jimmy Duffy [forwards], and Connacht’s Mark Sexton [backs/assistant attack coach] made up the Ireland A staff for against England A and will surely be in the mix along with the likes of Munster defence coach Denis Leamy. The new Irish coaching team will be announced next week. This tour will undoubtedly be a brilliant opportunity for O’Connell and his assistant coaches to further their development. That’s one of the major positives of so many of Ireland’s full-time coaches linking up with the Lions. But the simple reality is that Ireland are heading into a Test match window shorn of nearly their complete coaching staff. Head of athletic performance Aled Walters, who only joined Ireland in the autumn, and influential head of analytics Vinny Hammond are also heading on the Lions trip, so Ireland’s backroom has been gutted. This Ireland tour won’t be hogging headlines on the back pages, but it’s clearly an important window for the development of the squad given that so many frontliners will be away with the Lions. Advertisement Simon Easterby had been due to lead Ireland on tour.Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO Indeed, it seems like the ideal point for fringe players and promising youngsters to really put their hands up to become more prominent figures in the next few years, whether for the 2026 Six Nations or the 2027 World Cup. Back in 2017, Joe Schmidt led Ireland to the US and Japan while the Lions tour was ongoing. Andrew Porter, James Ryan, and Jacob Stockdale were among eight players to make their debuts. Schmidt saw first-hand how talented they were and pushed them hard to improve. Eight months later, that trio played big roles in Ireland winning a Grand Slam. Dan Leavy and Garry Ringrose had only a handful of caps between them before that 2017 tour, but they too benefitted and were key figures in the 2018 Slam and beyond in Ringrose’s case. The focus is so often on the next World Cup, but getting back to the top of the next Six Nations is a priority for the IRFU. The difference between winning and finishing third, as they did this year, is around €5 million in prize money. Even before that, there’s a big four-Test window to come this November. And making history at the World Cup in 2027 is obviously a huge goal. Farrell and the IRFU could justifiably argue that what happens in Australia this summer will have more relevance to those big objectives given the magnitude of the games Irish players and coaches will be involved in. That’s true, but it’s still a shame that the touring Irish players won’t have the chance to work directly with most of Ireland’s full-time coaches, the men who make the big decisions around selection and tactics. The original plan was that Easterby would lead this tour to Georgia and Portugal. When he was announced as interim head coach after Farrell got the Lions job, the IRFU stated that Easterby would be head-coaching Ireland this summer. It seemed like excellent planning, providing continuity throughout this season and leaving Farrell’s trusted lieutenant in charge of an important window for the squad. It also seemed to be a marker of Easterby accepting that he was out of the Lions frame. However, that plan seemingly changed recently as Farrell turned to Easterby to lead his Lions defence. Felix Jones might have been in the mix but for his decision to leave England and return to the Springboks. It’s understood France didn’t make Shaun Edwards available because they want him on their tour to New Zealand. Andrew Goodman, John Fogarty and Simon Easterby will tour with the Lions.Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO It’s a huge honour for Easterby to get the call and fully-deserved too. When Ireland won the Grand Slam in 2023, his defence was superb and the same was true when they earned another title in 2024. Ireland’s attack has drawn more plaudits over the last few years, but Easterby’s defence has been equally important. So, Ireland are now going to a second interim head coach in O’Connell. Again, it’s brilliant for O’Connell to get a chance to learn in the top job and he is an invaluable figure in this set-up, but he has never been a head coach before. That didn’t stop Farrell from making a success of his appointment as Ireland head coach, of course, but O’Connell stepping up even as interim head coach hadn’t been on the cards until the change of plan with Easterby. What all of this means is that Irish players on tour this July won’t be working with head coach and attack leader Farrell, defence expert Easterby, scrum specialist Fogarty, assistant attack coach Goodman, analysis leader Hammond, or strength and conditioning boss Walters. Nor will any of those key figures be seeing how Irish players handle the challenges on tour. They’ll be relying on second-hand reports about which personalities came to the fore, who shrank away, how everyone trained, and so on. Furthermore, Ireland’s coaches won’t have this window together to drive things on when it comes to tactics in attack, defence, the set-piece, and kicking game. Their performances this season suggest evolution is required but that will largely have to wait until the autumn. Clearly, the sense is that there is no drama with so many key personnel missing the two-Test tour and the IRFU will also understandably believe that everyone involved with the Lions will be much better for being part of something so big. It’s also worth pointing out that the IRFU is part of the Lions and makes money from these tours, so there is value aside from the rugby itself. But it’s hard to shake the nagging feeling that Ireland’s summer tour is now diminished a little more than could have been the case. It has the feel of an Emerging Ireland tour about it, but it certainly isn’t that. Ireland have two Test games ahead in a window that will hopefully give a handful of players chances to make a claim for starring roles in the future. The hope is that this won’t be a missed window. Murray Kinsella Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “O'Connell to lead important Ireland tour shorn of other Irish coaches”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “O'Connell to lead important Ireland tour shorn of other Irish coaches”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel. Racism or Hate speech An attack on an individual or group based on religion, race, gender, or beliefs. Trolling or Off-topic An attempt to derail the discussion. Inappropriate language Profanity, obscenity, vulgarity, or slurs. Advertising, phishing, scamming, bots, or repetitive posts. Please provide additional information Thank you for the feedback Your feedback has been sent to our team for review. Leave a commentcancel Access to the comments facility has been disabled for this user View our policy ⚠️ Duplicate comment Post Comment have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion Development St Pat's announce Ian Bermingham as new head of academy football FreeLonglist Andy Farrell draws up initial 75-player list for Lions tour of Australia FreeKingdom Jack O'Connor: 'We’ve gone seven games in eight weeks, which is bonkers for amateur players' Easterby, Goodman, and Fogarty confirmed in Farrell's Lions set-up FreePodcastThe 42FM From UFC to the Áras: Conor McGregor’s fight to stay famous Statement Win Argentina rout Brazil to cap World Cup qualification party Returning stars can make Munster 'a different team' for season run-in Sam Prendergast signs new Leinster contract No update from Munster as Jack Crowley's contract situation remains unresolved Ireland U17s secure historic World Cup qualification Easterby, Goodman, and Fogarty confirmed in Farrell's Lions set-up more from us Investigates Daft.ie Property Magazine Allianz Home Magazine The 42 Sports Magazine Money Diaries The Journal TV Journal Media Advertise With Us About FactCheck Our Network FactCheck Knowledge Bank Terms & Legal Notices Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition more from us TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Journal Media Advertise With Us Our Network The Journal FactCheck Knowledge Bank Terms & Legal Notices Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition © 2025 Journal Media Ltd Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition Switch to Desktop Switch to Mobile The 42 supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at https://www.presscouncil.ie, PH: (01) 6489130, Lo-Call 1800 208 080 or email: mailto:info@presscouncil.ie Report an error, omission or problem: Your Email (optional) Create Email Alert Create an email alert based on the current article Email Address One email every morning As soon as new articles come online Sign in or create a free account To continue reading create a free account Or sign into an existing account