THE CEO OF the IRFU Philip Browne last night revealed that the organisation has already begun the process of finding a replacement for departing Ireland coach Declan Kidney.
Speaking on Off the Ball, Browne also said they had hired “professional consultants” in a further bid to ensure they can find the best man for the job, adding that at the moment, “there aren’t that many world class coaches out there”.
“We’ve had some conversations with professional consultants,” he said.
“As to time frames, these things are hard to predict. We’d like the right person to be put in place sooner rather than later, but the key thing is to put the right person in place.”
In relation to the organisation’s reasons for not offering Kidney a new contract, Browne pointed out that rugby was a “results-oriented business” and suggested Kidney’s team had come up short in that department.
However, he added that several other factors influenced the decision.
“We had to look at the Autumn Internationals, the Six Nations. We had to take account of the injury profile.“We had to look at the dynamic of the coaching structure. We have to look at the profile of the team.
“We have to have an eye on the long-term future. Having weighed up all these things, we decided it was in the best interests of the Irish team that we change the coach at this time.”
Asked if Kidney should have focused more on World Cup planning, even if it had a negative impact on Six Nations performances, Browne rejected this assertion, saying: “We have to remember that, at the moment, our bread and butter in terms of revenue is generated from the Six Nations.”
He also backed Kidney to recover from the setback, saying he has “huge experience” and a considerable “commitment to Irish rugby”.
He continued: “We’d like Declan to continue to be involved in Irish rugby. As to what that role might be, now’s not the time to deal with that – we have to deal with what’s in front of us”.
