Paul O'Connell steps up as Ireland coach for summer tour

The IRFU rubber-stamped the elevation of O'Connell following Simon Easterby’s appointment as assistant Lions coach

Ireland Forwards Coach Paul O'Connell at the IRFU High Performance Centre, Sport Ireland Campus, Blanchardstown. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady

Paul O’Connell has been confirmed as Ireland’s new interim head coach for this summer’s end of season tour Tests in Georgia and Portugal.

The IRFU rubber-stamped the elevation of its former captain and current forwards coach following Simon Easterby’s appointment as one of three Ireland assistant coaches to Andy Farrell’s coaching ticket for this summer’s British & Irish Lions tour to Australia.

Defence coach Easterby, who guided Ireland as interim head coach in Farrell’s absence on secondment to the Lions during the recent Six Nations, had been pencilled in to lead Ireland’s tourists this summer but was unveiled alongside Ireland scrum coach John Fogarty and attack coach John Fogarty in London on Wednesday morning with Farrell also naming England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth and Scotland forwards coach John Dalziel to the tour coaching group.

Ireland team analyst Vinny Hammond and head of strength and conditioning Aled Walters were previously announced as members of the Lions backroom staff, as was former IRFU performance director David Nucifora for Farrell’s attempt to secure a first tour victory by the invitational side since they last visited Australia in 2013.

Nucifora’s successor David Humphreys on Tuesday congratulated the Lions appointees whilst also confirming O’Connell’s leadership role with Ireland in July, against Georgia on July 5 and Portugal a week later on July 12.

“On behalf of the IRFU, I would like to congratulate Simon, John and Andrew on their respective selections for the forthcoming British & Irish Lions tour to Australia,” Humphreys said.

"It is a huge statement of faith in their skill-sets and standing within the wider game, and I have no doubt that they will contribute greatly to a successful Lions tour.

“Their appointments mark significant milestones in their coaching careers, as it will for Vinny Hammond and Aled Walters, who were previously confirmed earlier this year. They will proudly follow in the footsteps of a long list of Irish coaches who have represented Ireland previously with the Lions coaching and management teams.

“To head coach Andy Farrell and to all those players who will hopefully be selected in a few weeks, we wish them all the very best of luck.

“Simon’s appointment means that an opportunity arises for a new interim head coach for the two-match summer tour to Georgia and Portugal and I’m delighted that Paul O’Connell will assume the role for this tour. Details around the remainder of the Ireland coaching team will be announced next week.” O’Connell’s touring staff is expected to include members of the recent Ireland A coaching ticket, when Munster attack coach Mike Prendergast was head coach for the one-off fixture against England A in Bristol on February 24, and Leinster assistant Sean O’Brien.

The Lions, meanwhile, will play a pre-tour Test against Argentina in Dublin on June 20 and Farrell outlined what he wanted to see from his assistants as they build towards the three-Test series with Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies, the first encounter of which will be in Brisbane on July 19.

“One hundred per cent, to be themselves, because we wouldn't be here unless that was the case.

“Yes, not only tactically, technically are they brilliant at their jobs in that regard, but they're adaptable. They're able to integrate well together, which is different at all like this, obviously, but not just that.

“More than anything, the good people and the cohesion of coaching staff together is massive for the players.” Farrell said the first meeting of his coaches in London on Tuesday had produced a long list of potential tourists from the four constituent nations, Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales with the Lions head coach set to name his travelling party in front of a live audience on May 8.

“I think we came up to about 75 men or something like that. Every single one of them deserves to be on that list. There's going to be a hell of a lot of good players that don't make the play, and that's exactly where we wanted to be. We want this to be as competitive as we possibly can.

“Obviously, we're going to be watching other games, that's where we'll be coming up.” The Lions lost to world champions South Africa last time out when Warren Gatland led his third tour as head coach in 2021. The previous tour produced a drawn series with New Zealand, but it is a dozen years since the Lions returned home victorious from Australia and Farrell’s memory went back further than that, to the tour victory that preceded that, against the Springboks in 1997.

“Once in the last six tours, it says a lot,” the head coach said. We'll take on that responsibility and we'll look to right those wrongs.”