Nigel Carolan not interested in filling Connacht hot-seat

Nigel Carolan’s name was one of the first ushered to the front of the queue of likely successors when Pat Lam decided he would be leaving Connacht for Bristol but the Ireland U20s coach has now declared himself to be a non-runner.

Currently juggling the 20s role with his brief as Connacht academy manager, Carolan spoke two years ago about the vagaries of life as a coach on the unpredictable provincial/club carousel and that hasn’t changed.

It was family that Lam claimed had forced his hand in accepting Bristol’s lucrative offer and it is family — Carolan has two young children — that is one of the main reasons behind the latter’s reluctance to jump into the muddier waters of the club game.

Among others.

“Going to work for me is not a job, it’s like a vocation,” Carolan explained yesterday.

“Working with the Connacht academy and this year seeing some of those guys come through, getting capped on the Irish side, makes life really easy as a job.

“To roll the dice as a professional coach... you are depending on players, decisions, weather, referees… It’s a big decision to go down that road and they deserve everything that they get.”

None of which is to say that he won’t change his mind one day.

Carolan is highly rated for his work this past 12 years with the academy out west and he burnished his CV last year when, after a disappointing start to the Six Nations, his U20s found their groove.

Ireland won their last three games in the annual tournament, against England, Italy, and Scotland, before excelling at the Junior World Cup where they came back from the dead to defeat Wales, became the first Irish men’s team to beat New Zealand and then made the final.

Only three of last year’s Six Nations squad has returned for duty this time around but expectations remain high for the latest batch despite that, and the fact that half-a-dozen are young enough to clock back in again 12 months from now.

“Again, it’s another very talented group of players. The nature of the U20s is that you start fresh. We had a number of camps before Christmas and there was great enthusiasm. This is a real talented bunch — some really good individuals again, like you have every year.

“The strength this year is that we have some real X-factor in the backs. We have a bit of continuity because Johnny McPhillips is back again. We expect Bill Johnston to be back in three weeks’ time so there’s a bit of continuity and a bit of experience at 10.”

Even without Johnston, Munster’s representation is notable.

Carolan took over the U20s two years ago when only four players from the southern province were deemed good enough. His latest selection boasts 10 from Munster, even with Johnston sidelined.

“You’ll find cycles. Every year there is a cycle of players coming through. At the time two years ago, we were picking the best guys and there were guys from Munster who were very close to the squad who just missed out.

“This year, we feel that there are guys there with some real quality.”