Gareth Steenson has eyes only for World Cup role with Ireland

Ireland Women's rugby kicking coach Gareth Steenson. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady.

Gareth Steenson is blocking out all talk of what comes next for him in order to concentrate on his role with an Ireland women’s senior team just weeks out from its first pool game at the 2025 Rugby World Cup.

The former Ireland U21 and Exeter Chiefs out-half has been working with Scott Bemand’s squad for a year now in a role as kicking coach, but the IRFU has since appointed a certain Jonathan Sexton to a similar brief.

Sexton’s contract with the Irish union kicked in on August 1st, at which point he was still in Australia working with Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions, but the Leinster legend is about to take over a large brief now that he is back on home soil.

The IRFU has itself labelled it an “expanded coaching role” from the part-time job he was doing last season with Sexton slated to work with the various men’s and women’s national grade teams up to senior levels.

“My future is I’m going to the World Cup so post-that it will be a matter of seeing where we are really,” said Steenson. “When I moved back home a year ago I was very lucky to come in and work with the pathway, work with the sevens right across that kicking regime.

“I’ve been very lucky since the Six Nations, doing a little bit more with the backs, a bit more work in that area, looking to strike plays and stuff like that. I’ve been very fortunate to be part of the growth piece as well so it’s been really exciting. I’ve loved it.

“All the focus has been really getting to this World Cup. Now we know that we are on the brink of it, it’s very exciting.”

Steenson has come to his current chapter via a long association with Exeter Chiefs with whom he won a second-tier Championship title and then two Premierships and a Champions Cup to boot. In all, he spent 13 years at Sandy Park.

So successful was he at the English club that he was awarded the status of freeman of the city of Exeter a few years ago, following on from such luminaries as Chiefs boss and legend Rob Baxter and Admiral Horatio Nelson.

Steenson has yet to graze any sheep on the common, or walk through the town with his sword, as the honour allows. Now back living on this side of the water, there is the carrot of returning to Sandy Park for a World Cup quarter-final next month.

Advance from Pool C, either as winners or as runners-up, and Ireland will play their quarter-final at the stadium he called home for so long. Beat Japan and Spain in their first two games and they will make it that far regardless of events third day out against New Zealand.

“Well, it would be fantastic,” said Steenson. “First of all, get to the quarter-final. We’ve got to respect what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to make sure we get those first couple of games. I know it’s a cliché, but we’ve got to get those games.

“We’ve got to rock up well, play well this weekend (in the warm-up game) against Canada to give us confidence going into that competition. For me personally it would be fantastic to go back. I know that there is a lot of excitement already.

“I was back in Exeter three weeks ago and there’s a real energy around the World Cup. To go back with the green jersey would be very exciting, even better if we win. Even so we’ve got a lot of work to do.” 

Steenson never got to play senior rugby for Ireland. He did go to two World Cups at what was then U21 level, and he was a key player in a team including Jamie Heaslip and Tomas O’Leary that reached the World Championship final at the grade in 2004.

Coaching may not hit with the same punch as playing for most people, but the 41-year old is still thrilled at the chance to play a part for Ireland at a senior equivalent and on the back of a club career that delivered so much.

“For me, it just was the journey that I took, the journey I had at Exeter chiefs. Would I have changed it for one or two caps? Well, I was quite happy how I finished with a double but, yeah, I've always wanted to be involved.”