Leinster close to naming new head coach

LEINSTER are hopeful of making an announcement about Matt Williams’ replacement as coach by early next week.

As many as eight candidates have been interviewed for the post, but one man certain not to be appointed is former Queensland and Stade Francais coach, John Connolly, who was appointed to the vacant post at Bath on Tuesday night.

A spokesman for Leinster would not reveal who has been interviewed for the job, but said that depending on whether or not they were going to offer it to someone currently in contract or someone out of contract, they may be in a position to make an announcement by Monday.

Bath unveiled John Connolly as their head coach for the 2003-04 season on Tuesday night. He has 20 years of coaching experience to call on, having worked at Queensland, Stade Francais and Swansea and will team up with the current coaching staff of Michael Foley, Brian Smith and Richard Graham.

Director of rugby Jack Rowell said: “John Connolly has extensive experience at a very high level.

“As head coach John will lead the coaching role which will include Mike Foley, Brian Smith and Richard Graham as his assistants.

“The goal here is to re-establish Bath Rugby at the top of the Zurich Premiership,” Rowell added. “At the end of last season an in-depth review of the playing side was undertaken.

“This indicated a need to appoint an experienced head coach and John Connolly’s appointment will allow Foley, Smith and Graham to develop their potential. The review also indicated the need to overhaul the existing playing squad and this is now substantially completed.”

Also in England, former All Black flanker Josh Kronfeld has signed a new one-year contract with English Premiership side Leicester Tigers and has also been named captain for the World Cup period next season.

The 32-year-old won 54 caps before his international retirement in 2000. He played his last New Zealand Test in the 2000 Tri-Nations and after a lengthy break from rugby signed with Leicester in May 2001.

Kronfeld takes over the Leicester captaincy while England skipper Martin Johnson is away in Australia on World Cup duty during October and November.

In the meantime, the International Rugby Board (IRB) finished a two-day inspection visit to Japan yesterday to see facilities and gauge the country's ability to host the seventh World Cup of rugby in 2011.

The IRB is considering holding the 2011 event outside the major rugby playing countries to promote the worldwide growth of the game. A final decision on the venue will not be made until 2005.

Elsewhere, following a complaint made by the Welsh Rugby Union that France breached law 3.5 (d) in the 5th/6th play-off match between the two sides at the IRB U-21 World Cup, the Tournament Disputes Committee met at the IRB offices yesterday to adjudicate on the dispute.

The committee, under the chairmanship of Noel Murphy and in line with the procedures set out in the tournament manual, upheld the complaint made by Wales and found that France had breached rule 3.5 (d), namely the failure to provide a suitably experienced player to cover as a replacement for injuries to two front row players.

During the match, referee Antonio Lombardi of Italy was forced to declare uncontested scrums owing to the fact that France could not replace a second front row injury.

As a result of this breach and consistent with the options available to it, the committee decided that the result of the match should be overturned and recorded as a victory to Wales. Wales therefore finish the competition in fifth place and France sixth.