AIL champion Walsh still beating drum for club game

In the end, he departed without fuss. Brian Walsh was never afraid to raise his head above the parapet during his time as Cork Constitution head coach, but when it came to stepping away, it happened so quietly many didn’t realise until they noticed his absence from the sideline in the club’s opening Ulster Bank League fixtures.

The former Munster full-back was an occasional thorn in the IRFU’s side, frustrated by the All-Ireland League’s position as Irish rugby’s problem child in the professional era. He’s still interested to see where it will fit in the national structure as a development tool down the line: “It’s still riddled with issues,” he admits.

Walsh also crafted three different Con eras in a 10-year stint, eight of those as head coach, winning silverware with each and always playing attractive rugby before letting Tom Mulcahy, Mick O’Driscoll and Terry Dillon take the reins: “There were numerous factors in my decision. I’d been there a long time, we’d been successful and I felt it needed a freshness. The timing was right and there were good candidates available.