THE LEVEL OF continuity and cohesion that Ireland have isn’t just limited to their playing squad. Andy Farrell has a settled coaching team around him too.
Farrell’s current assistant coaches are locked into their roles for the 2027 World Cup, with the head coach viewing the familiarity of his staff as important to Ireland’s continued success.
Ireland boss Farrell has recently extended his own contract through to the end of the 2031 World Cup, and it will be interesting to see if his assistants follow suit in having their deals extended.
51-year-old Farrell has essentially put his own coaching ticket together since taking over ahead of the 2020 Six Nations.
The only assistant coach he inherited who remains in place is Simon Easterby, who was initially Farrell’s forwards coach before shifting to focus on defence when Paul O’Connell joined before the 2021 Six Nations.
Easterby has been with Ireland since 2014 when he joined then-head coach Joe Schmidt’s staff after a two-year stint as the head coach of Scarlets in Wales.
Easterby was the interim Ireland head coach when Farrell was away on Lions duty last season, taking charge for the 2025 Six Nations before linking up with Farrell’s Lions that summer.
Easterby was also Emerging Ireland head coach on those short development trips to South Africa in 2022 and 2024. Easterby will turn 52 this month and has vast experience in international rugby, so it will be interesting to see if he looks for a permanent head coach role in the future.
“I really enjoyed it,” said Easterby of his stint as Ireland’s interim head coach.
“It was a short period, intense period, but I loved it. I really enjoyed the Emerging trips as well. They’ve been something a little bit different, a little bit out of the spotlight.
“I’m pretty happy where I’m at, but I’ve really enjoyed a couple of those experiences for sure.”
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Andrew Goodman and Simon Easterby. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Easterby insists he hasn’t given his future beyond the 2027 World Cup any great thought.
“No, not really,” he said. “I’m getting old now, so I’m just trying to get through each day and enjoy what we have here. I feel unbelievably privileged to have done what I’ve done in this group, first under Joe and then under Faz.
“So, I’m trying to enjoy each day and embrace each day. At some point I’ll look at what’s next, the future after the World Cup, but there’s plenty for me to be focusing on over the next 12 to 18 months.”
The Leinster head coach role opens up in 2027 when Leo Cullen departs and with Easterby’s brother, Guy, in place as chief operating officer at the province, there is an obvious connection.
But Easterby’s words echo those of O’Connell last weekend, when the former Ireland second row underlined that he’s happy doing what he’s doing as Farrell’s forwards coach.
O’Connell has much less experience as a top-level coach than Easterby, but he took over as interim Ireland head coach when Farrell, Easterby and co. were away on the Lions tour last summer.
46-year-old O’Connell led the Ireland trip to Georgia and Portugal, seeming to take on the additional responsibility with comfort.
The former Munster man made a big impact on the Ireland set-up when he joined in 2021. O’Connell focuses on Ireland’s forward play and has an important role leading their ruck work, as well as things like five-metre tap penalty plays and strikes from goal-line drop-out receipt.
There is plenty of attacking acumen in the Irish coaching ticket, with Farrell having a big influence on their phase-play attack.
Andrew Goodman is another with key input on the attacking front, particularly around set-piece plays, and he works closely with Farrell and Johnny Sexton, who also leads Ireland’s kicking and aerial work.
Sexton is the most recent addition to Ireland’s coaching team, with Farrell convincing him to join in the autumn of 2024, initially on a part-time basis.
40-year-old Sexton became a full-time employee of the IRFU last summer, when he also went on the Lions tour with Farrell, and it’s thought that his influence on this Irish set-up has continued to grow.
Goodman came on board as the replacement for backs coach Mike Catt in 2024, joining from Leinster.
43-year-old Goodman was previously head coach of the Tasman Mako in his native New Zealand, as well as being a well-regarded assistant coach with the Crusaders. He was another part of the Farrell Lions coaching team last year.
Johnny Sexton at Ireland training. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
It’s understood that Goodman was recently sounded out about a return to Kiwi rugby but committed to staying in his Ireland role.
Many in New Zealand expect Goodman to be a head coach again in the future, while Sexton is seen as a possible head coach at some stage given his rugby nous and experience.
The other person in the current Ireland coaching is the popular scrum specialist John Fogarty, who Farrell brought in when he got the top job after the 2019 World Cup.
48-year-old Fogarty had worked with Leinster’s scrum and Farrell values him not only for his technical leadership of that area, but also his affable character. The Ireland boss is always cognisant of having people who lift the mood in camp, and Fogarty is in that bracket.
Like Easterby, Goodman, and Sexton, scrum coach Fogarty was part of last year’s Lions tour, honing his coaching skills on a big stage.
So this is a settled and happy Ireland coaching group. Even the most recent addition, Sexton, was part of the set-up for many years before that.
Farrell surely sees them all as having complementary personalities and coaching qualities, so he is seemingly content to drive towards the World Cup with this group.
Whether he looks to mix things up after 2027 or whether some of these assistants want to progress into head coach roles beyond that point remains to be seen.
It will also be fascinating to see if the IRFU views any of the current assistants as Farrell’s long-term successor if he does depart in 2031. But that’s a long way down the road yet.
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Farrell's coaching team is settled but post-2027 will be interesting
THE LEVEL OF continuity and cohesion that Ireland have isn’t just limited to their playing squad. Andy Farrell has a settled coaching team around him too.
Farrell’s current assistant coaches are locked into their roles for the 2027 World Cup, with the head coach viewing the familiarity of his staff as important to Ireland’s continued success.
Ireland boss Farrell has recently extended his own contract through to the end of the 2031 World Cup, and it will be interesting to see if his assistants follow suit in having their deals extended.
51-year-old Farrell has essentially put his own coaching ticket together since taking over ahead of the 2020 Six Nations.
The only assistant coach he inherited who remains in place is Simon Easterby, who was initially Farrell’s forwards coach before shifting to focus on defence when Paul O’Connell joined before the 2021 Six Nations.
Easterby has been with Ireland since 2014 when he joined then-head coach Joe Schmidt’s staff after a two-year stint as the head coach of Scarlets in Wales.
Easterby was the interim Ireland head coach when Farrell was away on Lions duty last season, taking charge for the 2025 Six Nations before linking up with Farrell’s Lions that summer.
Easterby was also Emerging Ireland head coach on those short development trips to South Africa in 2022 and 2024. Easterby will turn 52 this month and has vast experience in international rugby, so it will be interesting to see if he looks for a permanent head coach role in the future.
“I really enjoyed it,” said Easterby of his stint as Ireland’s interim head coach.
“It was a short period, intense period, but I loved it. I really enjoyed the Emerging trips as well. They’ve been something a little bit different, a little bit out of the spotlight.
“I’m pretty happy where I’m at, but I’ve really enjoyed a couple of those experiences for sure.”
Easterby insists he hasn’t given his future beyond the 2027 World Cup any great thought.
“No, not really,” he said. “I’m getting old now, so I’m just trying to get through each day and enjoy what we have here. I feel unbelievably privileged to have done what I’ve done in this group, first under Joe and then under Faz.
“So, I’m trying to enjoy each day and embrace each day. At some point I’ll look at what’s next, the future after the World Cup, but there’s plenty for me to be focusing on over the next 12 to 18 months.”
The Leinster head coach role opens up in 2027 when Leo Cullen departs and with Easterby’s brother, Guy, in place as chief operating officer at the province, there is an obvious connection.
But Easterby’s words echo those of O’Connell last weekend, when the former Ireland second row underlined that he’s happy doing what he’s doing as Farrell’s forwards coach.
O’Connell has much less experience as a top-level coach than Easterby, but he took over as interim Ireland head coach when Farrell, Easterby and co. were away on the Lions tour last summer.
46-year-old O’Connell led the Ireland trip to Georgia and Portugal, seeming to take on the additional responsibility with comfort.
The former Munster man made a big impact on the Ireland set-up when he joined in 2021. O’Connell focuses on Ireland’s forward play and has an important role leading their ruck work, as well as things like five-metre tap penalty plays and strikes from goal-line drop-out receipt.
There is plenty of attacking acumen in the Irish coaching ticket, with Farrell having a big influence on their phase-play attack.
Andrew Goodman is another with key input on the attacking front, particularly around set-piece plays, and he works closely with Farrell and Johnny Sexton, who also leads Ireland’s kicking and aerial work.
Sexton is the most recent addition to Ireland’s coaching team, with Farrell convincing him to join in the autumn of 2024, initially on a part-time basis.
40-year-old Sexton became a full-time employee of the IRFU last summer, when he also went on the Lions tour with Farrell, and it’s thought that his influence on this Irish set-up has continued to grow.
Goodman came on board as the replacement for backs coach Mike Catt in 2024, joining from Leinster.
43-year-old Goodman was previously head coach of the Tasman Mako in his native New Zealand, as well as being a well-regarded assistant coach with the Crusaders. He was another part of the Farrell Lions coaching team last year.
It’s understood that Goodman was recently sounded out about a return to Kiwi rugby but committed to staying in his Ireland role.
Many in New Zealand expect Goodman to be a head coach again in the future, while Sexton is seen as a possible head coach at some stage given his rugby nous and experience.
The other person in the current Ireland coaching is the popular scrum specialist John Fogarty, who Farrell brought in when he got the top job after the 2019 World Cup.
48-year-old Fogarty had worked with Leinster’s scrum and Farrell values him not only for his technical leadership of that area, but also his affable character. The Ireland boss is always cognisant of having people who lift the mood in camp, and Fogarty is in that bracket.
Like Easterby, Goodman, and Sexton, scrum coach Fogarty was part of last year’s Lions tour, honing his coaching skills on a big stage.
So this is a settled and happy Ireland coaching group. Even the most recent addition, Sexton, was part of the set-up for many years before that.
Farrell surely sees them all as having complementary personalities and coaching qualities, so he is seemingly content to drive towards the World Cup with this group.
Whether he looks to mix things up after 2027 or whether some of these assistants want to progress into head coach roles beyond that point remains to be seen.
It will also be fascinating to see if the IRFU views any of the current assistants as Farrell’s long-term successor if he does depart in 2031. But that’s a long way down the road yet.
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